Extreme glacier melt and record ocean heat levels - which cause
water to expand - contributed to an average rise in sea levels
of 4.62mm a year between 2013-2022, the U.N. agency said in a
major report detailing the havoc of climate change. That is
about double the pace of the first decade on record, 1993-2002,
leading to a total increase of over 10 cm since the early 1990s.
"We have already lost this melting of glaciers game and sea
level rise game so that's bad news," WMO Secretary-General
Petteri Taalas told a press conference. That is because such
high levels of greenhouse gases have already been emitted that
waters would continue to rise for "thousands of years".
Rising sea levels threaten some coastal cities and the very
existence of low-lying states such as the island of Tuvalu -
which plans to build a digital version of itself in case it is
submerged.
The annual report, released a day ahead of Earth Day, also
showed that sea ice in Antarctica receded to record lows last
June and July. Oceans were the warmest on record, with around
58% of their surfaces experiencing a marine heatwave, it said.
Some 15,000 people died during Europe's heatwaves last year, it
stated.
Taalas said such extreme weather patterns would continue into
the 2060s no matter what steps we take to reduce emissions. But
he said there was still a chance to turn around things
afterwards.
"The good news would be that we would be able to phase out this
negative trend and even reach the 1.5 degrees (Celsius)limit,"
he said, noting more ambitious climate plans from G7 countries
that could enable the world to meet the 2015 Paris temperature
target.
Overall, the WMO said 2022 ranked as the fifth or sixth warmest
year on record with the mean global temperature 1.15 degrees
Celsius above the pre-industrial average, despite the cooling
impact of a three-year La Niña climatic event.
Climate scientists have warned that the world could breach a new
average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate
change and the anticipated return of warming El Niño conditions.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Hugh
Lawson)
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