Page 15 - Turkinsurance Digital Magazine

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World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has

declared that 2020 could be the 2nd warmest for
the year to date, following 2016, due to the droughts
seen in autumn which were above seasonally normal
levels.

Authorities from the WMO, an organization that operates under United Na-
tions, state that the report on the State of the Global Climate in 2020 is based
on five global temperature datasets. They add that heat, drought, fires and
storms have had a serious impact on the temperatures measured this year.

The report says “2020 is on track to be one of three warmest years on re-
cord”, and ocean heat is at record levels and more than 80% of the global
ocean experienced a marine heatwave at some time in 2020.

The details from the report and opinions of authorities are as follows: Climate
change continued its relentless march in 2020, which is on track to be one of
the three warmest years on record. 2011-2020 will be the warmest decade
on record, with the warmest six years all being since 2015, according to the
World Meteorological Organization. According to the report on the State of
the Global Climate in 2020, ocean heat is at record levels. More than 80% of
the global ocean experienced a marine heatwave at some time in 2020, with
widespread repercussions for marine ecosystems already suffering from more
acidic waters due to carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption. The report, which is
based on contributions of dozens of international organizations and experts,
shows how high-impact events including extreme heat, wildfires and floods,
as well as the record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season, affected millions
of people, compounding threats to human health and security and economic
stability posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the COVID-19 lockdown,
atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases continued to rise, commit-
ting the planet to further warming for many generations to come because of
the long lifetime of CO2 in the atmosphere, according to the report.

“The average global temperature in 2020 is set to be about 1.2 °C above the
pre-industrial (1850-1900) level. There is at least a one in five chance of it
temporarily exceeding 1.5 °C by 2024,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof.
Petteri Taalas. “This year is the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on
Climate Change. We welcome all the recent commitments by governments to