Greenhouse Gases, Other Climate Change Indicators Hit Record High In 2021 - WMO Report

Greenhouse Gases, Other Climate Change Indicators Hit Record High in 2021 - WMO Report

Human activities harmful to the environment have resulted in four main climate change indicators, including greenhouse gas and sea level, reaching record high in 2021, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report released on Wednesday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2022) Human activities harmful to the environment have resulted in four main climate change indicators, including greenhouse gas and sea level, reaching record high in 2021, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report released on Wednesday.

"Four key climate change indicators - greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification - set new records in 2021. This is yet another clear sign that human activities are causing planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean, and in the atmosphere, with harmful and long-lasting ramifications for sustainable development and ecosystems," the WMO said in its annual State of the Global Climate Report.

The organization added that the past seven years had been the warmest years in recorded history. In particular, the 2021 average global temperature was around 1.11 degrees Celsius (1.98 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial level.

Such extreme weather conditions undermined food and water security in many regions of the world and led to economic losses worth billions of Dollars, which put a heavy burden on the population, the WMO added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used the report's publication to urge the international community to end fossil fuel pollution and accelerate the transition to the green economy. In particular, he identified five key actions to launch a global shift toward renewables. The measures include ensuring improved access to renewable energy technologies, higher security and diversification of components and raw materials supplies, increased investments in the area, an effective reform of the bureaucracy and a waiver of fossil fuels subsidies.

"If we act together, the renewable energy transformation can be the peace project of the 21st century. Every country, city and citizen, every financial institution, company and civil society organization has a role to play. But most of all, it's time for leaders � public and private alike � to stop talking about renewables as a distant project of the future. Because without renewables, there can be no future," Guterres said in a video message.

The information presented in the WMO State of the Global Climate report will serve as a basis for the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27) scheduled to take place in Egypt in November.