UN Warns: Record 2024 Heat Waves Contributing to Rapid Ice Loss and Sea Level Increases
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued a serious warning about the effects of the record high temperatures in 2024. The UN agency stated that temperatures have reached incredible levels, fueled by record levels of greenhouse gases, resulted in melting glaciers and sea ice and contributed to sea level rise.
The WMO said in its annual climate report that global temperatures in 2024 were 1.55 degree celsius above pre-industrial levels which is 0.1 degree celsius higher than the record levels of 2023. This trend pushes the world closer to the 1.5 degree celsius threshold in the Paris Agreement of 2015 even though this threshold has not been formally crossed yet. Provisional estimates suggest that the long term temperature increase is currently between 1.34 degree celsius and 1.41 degree celsius but the uncertainty in the data means that the 1.5 degree celsius threshold has still not been formally breached.
In addition to rising temperatures, there was also the mention of extreme weather events which impacted a displacement of 800,000 people and was at the highest record since 2008 with droughts, floods and wildfires. The report also mentioned ocean heat levels hitting an unprecedented temperature and raising carbon dioxide levels that pushed ocean acidification to disturbing levels.
The swift melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic territories raised sea levels to unprecedented levels. From 2015 to 2024 sea levels increased on average by 4.7mm per year, a significant rise from 2.1mm per year observed between 1993-2002. The long term consequences of these changes particularly in the polar areas could greatly impact ocean circulation and climate on a global scale.
The World Meteorological Organization’s assessment calls for urgent action to address climate change and its broader impacts.
