UN agency cites worrying warming trend as COP28 summit grapples with curbing climate change

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The recent findings from the United Nations weather agency highlight a deeply concerning trend in global warming as the COP28 summit grapples with the urgent issue of curbing climate change.

According to the latest Decadal State of the Climate report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), glaciers have experienced unprecedented shrinkage between 2011 and 2020. Additionally, the Antarctic ice sheet witnessed a staggering loss of 75 percent more ice compared to the previous decade. These findings serve as a stark reminder of the planet’s dire situation in the face of climate change.

Petteri Taalas, the secretary-general of WMO, emphasized that each decade since the 1990s has been consistently warmer than the one preceding it. This alarming warming trend shows no immediate signs of reversing. Taalas issued a sobering statement, saying, “We are losing the race to save our melting glaciers and ice sheets.”

The consequences of this warming trend are multifaceted. Warming oceans and the melting of ice sheets have led to a nearly doubled rate of sea-level rise in less than a generation. This, in turn, poses a grave threat to low-lying coastal regions and countries worldwide.

Despite the consensus on the warming of the Earth, experts remain divided on one critical aspect: the rate of warming itself. Renowned climate scientist James Hansen, often referred to as the “Godfather of Global Warming” for his early warnings, contends that the rate of warming is accelerating. On the other hand, Michael Mann, a climate scientist from the University of Pennsylvania, argues that while warming has been steadily increasing since 1990, it is not currently speeding up.

Mann expressed his concern that the Earth’s surface and oceans are warming at a steady, albeit troubling, rate, which is already contributing to increasingly severe extreme weather events and coastal flooding. He stressed that the warming and its devastating consequences will persist as long as carbon pollution from fossil fuel burning and other activities continues.

In light of these findings, the critical need for progress in addressing climate change is underscored, particularly at the ongoing COP28 climate summit in Dubai. The WMO report also paints a grim picture for glaciers worldwide, with an average annual thinning of about one meter from 2011 to 2020. Notably, glaciers near the Equator are rapidly dwindling, with those in Papua, Indonesia projected to vanish within the next decade. Similarly, glaciers on the Rwenzori Mountains and Mount Kenya in Africa are expected to disappear by 2030, along with those on Kilimanjaro by 2040.

The report’s findings on ice-sheet thaw are equally concerning, as Greenland and Antarctica lost 38% more ice between 2011 and 2020 than in the previous decade. This accelerated melting is a key driver of rising sea levels, amplifying the urgency of addressing climate change on a global scale.

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More about ClimateChangeTrends

• WMO Decadal State of the Climate Report
• COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai
• James Hansen – Godfather of Global Warming
• Michael Mann – University of Pennsylvania Profile