BİRLEŞMİŞ MİLLETLER (TURKISH JOURNAL) – Pia Bozyel- As news of extreme heat waves, floods and drought take a grip on news around the world, the UN’s meteorological body urged for “quick” action against climate change.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO), published a written statement with examples of extreme weather conditions from around the globe.
WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas, said, “The extreme weather – an increasingly frequent occurrence in our warming climate – is having a major impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies. This underlines the increasing urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as deeply as possible.”
- Becoming the “new normal”
Calling the extreme weather conditions “the new normal”, Taalas called for efforts to be increased in order to help societies adapt.
WMO warned that while developed countries usually possess the necessary tools to tackle extreme weather events such as floods, that is not the case for developing countries.
Stefan Uhlenbrook, Director of hydrology, water and cryosphere at WMO said,
“ Developed countries like Japan are extremely alert, and they’re also very well prepared when it comes to flood management measures. But many low-income countries have no warnings in place, hardly any flood defense structures and no integrated flood management. WMO is committed to improving the situation.”
The US National Centers for Environmental Prediction announced that the global average temperature on July 4 reached a record of 17.18C (62.924F).
As human activities exacerbate the impacts of climate change, scientists warn the situation can get worse.
