UN's Climate Crisis Declaration Explained"

In an alarming report, the United Nations weather agency has declared that Earth just experienced its hottest summer on record. The announcement comes in the wake of data released by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed grave concerns, stating that “the hottest summer on record signals the onset of a climate breakdown.”

Petteri Taalas, the Secretary-General of WMO, emphasized the severity of the situation, particularly in the northern hemisphere, where extreme heatwaves have fueled devastating wildfires, adversely affecting both health and daily life. In the southern hemisphere, the decline in Antarctic Sea ice reached unprecedented levels, and global sea surface temperatures hit new records.

The WMO report, supported by data from multiple monitoring organizations worldwide, revealed that August 2023 was the hottest August ever recorded, both on land and in global sea surface temperatures. The UK’s Met Office even warned of a 98% likelihood that one of the next five years could be the warmest on record.

2023 is currently tracking as a contender for the hottest year overall, trailing only 2016. The emergence of an El Niño weather pattern further threatens to drive temperatures higher in the coming year. Laura Patterson, the WMO’s representative to the UN, emphasized the need to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels to combat the ongoing warming trend.

Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, highlighted that August 2023 was approximately 1.5°C warmer than pre-industrial levels. UN Secretary-General Guterres urged immediate action, stating that “we can still avoid the worst of climate chaos, but we don’t have a moment to lose.”

Re-reported from the article originally published in The CBS News.