The last eight years (from 2015 to 2022) were precisely the warmest on Earth since the instrumental records of world temperatures began in 1850. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency specialized in weather, climate and water, confirmed this data on Friday in the report ‘State of the world climate in 2022 ‘, of which he offered a provisional version last November coinciding with the Climate Summit in Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt).

The WMO flagship report, prepared by dozens of experts and released before International Mother Earth Day is celebrated this Saturday, highlights the continued advance of climate changefrom the mountain tops to the ocean depths.

The document focuses on key climate indicators: greenhouse gases, temperatures, sea level rise, heat and acidification of the oceans, sea ice and glaciers.

Droughts, floods and heat waves affected communities on all continents last year, causing losses worth many billions of euros. Antarctic sea ice extent receded to record lows and the melting of some European glaciers reached unprecedented levels. The report reflects observed planetary-scale changes across land, oceans and atmosphere caused by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

Regarding global temperature, the period between 2015 and 2022 were the eight warmest years on record, despite the cooling effect produced by a La Niña episode during the last three years. The melting of glaciers and the rise in sea levels – which returned to record levels in 2022 – will continue for thousands of years, according to the WMO.

WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas noted that “greenhouse gas emissions do not stop increasing And the climate continues to change, while populations around the world continue to be severely affected by extreme weather and climate events.”

“For example, in 2022, the persistent drought in East Africa, the unprecedented rains that hit Pakistan and the heat waves that broke records in China and Europe affected tens of millions of people, caused food insecurity, prompted mass migration and caused billions of dollars worth of loss and damage,” he added.

According to the report, dangerous weather and weather phenomena caused last year new population displacements and the conditions of a large part of the 95 million people who were already displaced at the beginning of the year worsened.

Also in the report emphasis is placed on ecosystems and the environment, and it describes the way in which climate change is affecting recurring phenomena in nature, such as the flowering time of trees or the migration of birds.

“We have the necessary tools, knowledge and solutions. But we need to act faster. We need to accelerate climate action with stronger and faster cuts in emissions to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. Also we must radically increase investments in adaptation and resilience, particularly for the most vulnerable countries and communities, which have contributed the least to the crisis,” according to António Guterres, UN Secretary General.

Temperatures, gases, glaciers and oceans

The global average temperature in 2022 stood 1.15 degrees above average of the period between 1850 and 1900. The eight warmest years since 1850 were those between 2015 and 2022. The concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) reached the highest levels ever observed in 2021, the latest year for which consolidated world values ​​are available, the historical series beginning in 1984.

Reference glaciers for which long-term observations are available experienced an average thickness change of more than -1.3 meters between October 2021 and October 2022. This is a much higher loss than the average of the last decade.

In the European Alps, Glacier melt reached all-time highs by the combination of little winter snow, a Saharan dust intrusion on March 2, and heat waves that occurred between May and early September.

In Switzerland, between 2021 and 2022, 6% of the volume of ice from glaciers was lost, and a third between 2001 and 2022. For the first time ever, there was no snow to survive the summer melt season, even at the higher elevation measurement sites, so there was no accumulation of fresh ice.

Measurements on glaciers in high mountain areas of Asia, western North America, South America, and parts of the Arctic also reveal considerable mass losses from glaciers. In Iceland and northern Norway there were some mass increases associated with above-average rainfall and a relatively cool summer.

Antarctic sea ice decreased to 1.92 million square kilometers on February 25, 2022, the lowest level on record and nearly a million square kilometers below the long-term average. For the rest of the year, it was consistently below average, with record lows in June and July.

Ocean heat content reached a new all-time high in 2022. About 90% of the energy trapped in the climate system from greenhouse gases ends up in the oceans, somewhat mitigating rising temperatures, but posing risks to marine ecosystems.

Global mean sea level continued to rise last year and hit a new record high since records began in 1933 obtained by satellite altimeters.