The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has said weather, water and climate-related disasters, including extreme flooding, heat and drought which affected millions of people and cost billions last year, indicate the need for more climate change mitigation.

It says the events of 2023 once again underlined the clear need to do much more to cut greenhouse gas emissions with better monitoring to strengthen climate change adaptation through universal access to early warnings.

The WMO Secretary-General, Prof. Petteri Taalas said: “We have faced several dramatic weather disasters which claimed far too many lives and livelihoods and undermined health, food, energy and water security and infrastructure. One third of Pakistan was flooded, with major economic losses and human casualties. Record-breaking heat waves have been observed in China, Europe, North and South America. The long-lasting drought in the Horn of Africa threatens a humanitarian catastrophe.

There is a need to enhance preparedness for such extreme events and to ensure that we meet the UN target of Early Warnings for all in the next five years.”

WMO, which marks its 150th anniversary this year, stressed that early warnings, increasing investment in basic global observing system and building resilience to extreme weather and climate will be among its priorities in the New Year.

The organization assured that it would also promote a new way of monitoring the sinks and sources of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide by using the ground-based Global Atmosphere Watch, satellite and assimilation modeling.

It noted that this allows better understanding of the behavior of the key greenhouse gasses in the real atmosphere.

Taalas said “There are for example large uncertainties related to the strength of sinks of carbon in the biosphere and sources of methane, which will be better monitored with the new method”. Undoubtedly, greenhouse gasses are just one of the climate indicators now at record observed levels.