Last eight years had been hotter than any year prior to 2015, says WMO report

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a report yesterday that Each of the last eight years had been hotter than any year prior to 2015, as the COP27 UN Climate Summit opened in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Describing the report as a chronicle of climate chaos, UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that as COP27 gets underway, our planet is sending a distress signal. The report said that Earth has warmed more than 1.1 degrees Celsius since the late 19th century, with about half of that increase occurring in the past 30 years.

According to WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, the 1.5-degree warming target of the Paris climate agreement is unlikely to be reached given the current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

According to the WMO report, since the decade began, seas are rising at 5 millimeters a year compared to 2.1 millimeters in the 1990s. More than 120 world leaders are taking part at the summit known as COP27, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. This will kick off two weeks of negotiations between countries on climate action.