Geneva (AFP) – The World Meteorological Organization assured on Tuesday, April 23, that Asia was “the region in the world most affected by climate-related disasters” in 2023, since the highest number of victims and economic losses were recorded there due to floods and the storms.
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“Climate change has exacerbated the frequency and severity of such events, deeply impacting society, the economy and, most importantly, human lives and the environment in which we live,” said Celeste Saulo, director of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in a statement.
2023 was the hottest year ever recorded in the world. However, in Asia, the impact of heat waves is increasing, the WMO warns, adding that melting glaciers, such as in the Himalayas, threaten the region's future water security.
Asia is also warming faster than the world average, with temperatures that last year exceeded the average from 1961 to 1990 by 2 ºC.
“The conclusions of the report leave you thinking,” said the head of the meteorological organization.
“Many countries in the region recorded their hottest year in 2023, accompanied by a series of extreme conditions, from droughts and heat waves to floods and storms,” he added.
The report on the state of the climate in Asia 2023 warns that the main indicators of climate change have accelerated, such as surface temperature, retreating glaciers and rising sea levels.
The changes will have serious consequences on the societies, economies and ecosystems of the region.
Heat, melting and flooding
The annual mean near-surface temperature in Asia in 2023 was the second highest on record, 0.91°C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.87°C above the 1961-1990 average.
Particularly high temperatures were recorded from western Siberia to central Asia, and from eastern China to Japan, underlines the report.
The Japanese archipelago experienced its hottest summer ever recorded.
Rainfall, however, was below normal in the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush mountain range in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
At the same time, southwest China was experiencing a drought, with below-normal rainfall in almost every month of the year.
The Asian high mountain region, on the Tibetan Plateau, contains the largest volume of ice outside the polar regions. However, in recent years, most of these glaciers have retreated at an accelerated rate, the WMO said.
Twenty of the 22 glaciers monitored in the region continuously lost mass last year.
The report further highlights that sea surface temperatures in the northwest Pacific Ocean in 2023 were the highest ever recorded.
Last year, 79 disasters related to hydrometeorological risks were recorded in Asia.
Of these, more than 80% were floods and storms, which claimed more than 2,000 lives. Nine million people were directly affected.
“Floods were by far the leading cause of death among events recorded in 2023,” underlines the WMO.
Following the passage of a typhoon, Hong Kong recorded rainfall of 158.1 millimeters in one hour on September 7, a record since measurements began in 1884.
The WMO considers it urgent for the region's national meteorological services to produce adequate data to mitigate risks.
“It is imperative that our actions and strategies reflect the urgency of this time… reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change is a fundamental need,” says Saulo.
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