WMC Approves Global Greenhouse Gas Watch

• 27 May 2023

For Prelims: WMO, Climate Change, Green House Gas, UNFCCC.

For Mains: Need for Global Greenhouse Gas Watch.

Why in News?

Recently, the 19^th World Meteorological Congress (WMC) has approved the Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Watch (G3W), a GHG monitoring initiative, to reduce the heat-trapping gases and combat Climate Change.

• The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in the Collaboration with WHO also framed 2023-2033 Implementation Plan for Advancing Climate, Environment and Health Science and Services to manage the impact of Climate Change.

Note: The Nineteenth World Meteorological Congress (Cg-19) is currently taking place from 22 May to 2 June 2023 at the International Conference Centre of Geneva (CICG). It is the supreme body of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

What is the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)?

• The WMO is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 192 Member States and Territories.
  • India is a member of WMO.
• It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was established after the 1873 Vienna International Meteorological Congress.
• Established by the ratification of the WMO Convention on 23^rd March 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.'
  • WMO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

What is the Greenhouse Gas Watch (G3W)?

• About:
  • It will establish internationally coordinated top-down monitoring of greenhouse gas fluxes to support the provision of actionable information to the UNFCCC Parties and other stakeholders.
  • The GHG watch will fill critical information gaps and provide an integrated and operational framework. The framework will bring all space-based and surface-based observing systems, as well as modeling and data assimilation capabilities, under one roof.
• Implementation:
  • The monitoring infrastructure will build on and expand WMO’s long-standing activities in GHG monitoring, implemented as part of the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) and via its Integrated Global GHG Information System (IG3IS).
    • The GAW of WMO focuses on building a single coordinated global understanding of atmospheric composition, its change, and helps to improve the understanding of interactions between the atmosphere, the oceans and the biosphere.
    • IG3IS aims to coordinate an integrated global GHG information system, linking inventory and flux model based information with atmospheric observations and modelling, to provide the best possible estimates of greenhouse gas emissions at the national and urban scales.
• Components:
  • Surface-based and satellite-based observations
  • Prior estimates of the GHG emissions based on activity data and process-based models
  • Global high-resolution Earth System models representing GHG cycles
  • Data assimilation systems associated with models to generate products of higher accuracy
• Significance:
  • At present, there is no comprehensive, timely international exchange of surface and space based GHG observations or modelling products.
  • GHG monitoring infrastructure will help improve understanding of the carbon cycle. Understanding the full carbon cycle is vitally important for the planning of mitigation activities.
  • Globally consistent, gridded information on GHG and their fluxes with appropriate time resolution will help in the improved evaluation of sources and sinks of GHG and indicate their association with the biosphere, the ocean and the permafrost areas.

What are Greenhouse Gases?

• About:
  • A greenhouse gas (GHG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy at thermal infrared wavelengths, causing the greenhouse effect.
  • The primary GHGs in Earth's atmosphere are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and ozone (O₃).
• Initiatives to Curb GHGs:
  • Global:
    • Paris Agreement
    • UN SDGs
  • India:
    • National Action Plan to Combat Climate Change (NAPCC)
    • India Cooling Action Plan

What is the 2023-2033 Implementation Plan?

• Objective:
  • The plan aims to achieve “better health and well-being for people facing existing and emerging extreme weather events, climate change and environmental risks through the effective integration of climate, environment and health science and services across the world”.
  • It seeks to promote a coordinated approach to manage the impact of climate, weather, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, extreme events and other environmental factors on health.
• Need:
  • By 2030-2050, climate change is projected to cause approximately 250,000 extra deaths annually due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress.
  • If current emission levels persist, up to 8.4 billion people could be at risk from malaria and dengue, two major vector-borne diseases, by the end of the century.
  • Concerns arise regarding extreme heat and the importance of strengthening understanding, early warning systems, and risk management for climate-related risks like heat waves, wildfires, and air quality issues.
    • In 2022, India experienced its hottest March, leading to early heat waves across various regions.
    • Extreme heat will expose 600 million Indians to dangerous temperatures by 2030.

Source: DTE