Provisional State of Global Climate Report, 2022 | 08 Nov 2022

Why in News?

Recently, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released the provisional State of the Global Climate report, 2022.

• The full and final report is expected to be published in April, 2023.

What are the Highlights of the Report?

• Increase in Concentration of Greenhouse Gases:
  • The concentrations of three main greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and Nitrous oxide (NO₂), were all at record highs in 2021.
  • The emissions of methane, which is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide in causing global warming, in fact, increased at the fastest pace ever.
    • At the climate change conference in Glasgow, countries had pledged to cut global methane emissions by at least 30% by the year 2030.
• Temperature:
  • The global average temperature in 2022 is estimated to be about 1.15 °C above the 1850-1900 average.
  • 2015 to 2022 are likely to be the eight warmest years on record.
  • La Niña (a cooling of sea-surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean) conditions have dominated since late 2020 and are expected to continue until the end of 2022.
    • Continuing La Niña has kept global temperatures relatively low for the past two years - albeit higher than the last significant La Niña in 2011.
• Glaciers and Ice:
  • In the European Alps, glacier melt records were shattered in 2022. Average thickness losses of between 3 and over 4 metres were measured throughout the Alps, substantially more than in the previous record year 2003.
  • In Switzerland, 6% of the glacier ice volume was lost between 2021 and 2022, according to initial measurements.
  • For the first time in history, no snow outlasted the summer season even at the very highest measurement sites and thus no accumulation of fresh ice occurred.
• Sea Level Rise:
  • Global mean sea level has risen by an estimated 3.4 ± 0.3 mm per year over the 30 years (1993-2022) of the satellite altimeter record.
  • The rate has doubled between 1993-2002 and 2013-2022 and sea level increased by about 5 mm between January 2021 and August 2022.
• Ocean Heat:
  • The ocean stores around 90% of the accumulated heat from human emissions of greenhouse gases.
  • The upper 2000m of the ocean continued to warm to record levels in 2021.
  • Overall, 55% of the ocean surface experienced at least one marine heatwave in 2022.
  • In contrast only 22% of the ocean surface experienced a marine cold spell. Marine heatwaves are becoming more frequent, in contrast to cold waves.
• Extreme Weather:
  • In East Africa, rainfall has been below average in four consecutive wet seasons, the longest in 40 years, with indications that the current season could also be dry.
  • Record breaking rain in July and August, 2022 led to extensive flooding in Pakistan.
    • The flooding came hard on the heels of an extreme heatwave in March and April in both India and Pakistan.
  • Large parts of the northern hemisphere were exceptionally hot and dry.
    • China had the most extensive and long-lasting heatwave since national records began and the second-driest summer on record.
  • Large parts of Europe sweltered in repeated episodes of extreme heat.
    • The United Kingdom saw a new national record on 19th July,2022 when the temperature topped more than 40°C for the first time.

What are the Steps taken to tackle Climate change?

• National:
  • NAPCCC:
    • To counter the emerging threats from climate change, India released its National Action Plan to Combat Climate Change (NAPCC). It has 8 sub missions including National Solar Mission, National Water Mission etc.
  • India Cooling Action Plan: It provides an integrated approach towards cooling and related areas including reduction in the cooling demand. This would help reduce emissions thereby combating global warming.
• Global:
  • Paris Agreement:
    • It seeks to keep the rise in global temperatures “well below” 2°C from pre-industrial times, while “pursuing efforts” to limit it to 1.5°C.
  • UN SDGs:
    • These are 17 broad goals for achieving sustainable development in the society. Amongst them Goal 13 exclusively focuses on tackling climate change.
  • Glasgow Pact:
    • It was finally adopted by 197 parties in 2021 during the COP26 negotiations.
      • It has emphasized that stronger action in the current decade was most critical for achieving the 1.5-degree target.

Way Forward

• There is a need to focus the efforts on bold policies and solutions that can quickly transform the way the resources are produced and consumed.
• People and partnerships have to be the central approach, whether it is to create new jobs, provide more access and affordability for everyone and to build a cleaner and greener living environment.

Source: IE