A glimpse at the ever changing landscape of New Zealand (the last land mass on Earth to be colonized) through an observation of mass nightly migrations of starlings over a small city. Filmed over the course of three years in Taranaki, New Plymouth

Diagnosis: Bad

Prognosis: Worse

Every year, about this time, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) releases a detailed report updating their analysis in key climate metrics.

This years report talks about how almost every essential element of the climate system is severely broken, with new records being set across the board.

I chat about the key findings of this report, zeroing in on the graphs and charts, to let you know the grim highlights of our breaking climate/weather systems.

Press release link: https://wmo.int/publication-series/state-of-global-climate-2023

Key messages:

State of Global Climate report confirms 2023 as hottest year on record by clear margin

Records broken for ocean heat, sea level rise, Antarctic sea ice loss and glacier retreat

Extreme weather undermines socio-economic development

Renewable energy transition provides hope

Cost of climate inaction is higher than cost of climate action

Here is the link to the full, detailed report: https://library.wmo.int/viewer/68835/?offset=#page=1&viewer=picture&o=bookmark&n=0&q=

I noticed that there was zero mention of aerosols and sulphur reduction in marine shipping fuels; in my view this is a huge oversight by the WMO in light of James Hansen’s brilliant work. Mainstream science does not yet accept what Hansen is saying; but I am sure they will confirm it soon, since it is impossible to ignore the harsh truth forever.

Some startling tidbits that do appear in the report are the following:

Heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires and rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones caused misery and mayhem, upending every-day life for millions and inflicting many billions of dollars in economic losses, according to the WMO State of the Global Climate 2023 report.

The WMO report confirmed that 2023 was the warmest year on record, with the global average near-surface temperature at 1.45 °Celsius (with a margin of uncertainty of ± 0.12 °C) above the pre-industrial baseline. It was the warmest ten-year period on record.

“Sirens are blaring across all major indicators... Some records aren’t just chart-topping, they’re chart-busting. And changes are speeding-up.” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

“Never have we been so close – albeit on a temporary basis at the moment – to the 1.5° C lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change.” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “The WMO community is sounding the Red Alert to the world.” “Climate change is about much more than temperatures. What we witnessed in 2023, especially with the unprecedented ocean warmth, glacier retreat and Antarctic sea ice loss, is cause for particular concern,” she said.

On an average day in 2023, nearly one third of the global ocean was gripped by a marine heatwave, harming vital ecosystems and food systems. Towards the end of 2023, over 90% of the ocean had experienced heatwave conditions at some point during the year.

The global set of reference glaciers suffered the largest loss of ice on record (since 1950), driven by extreme melt in both western North America and Europe, according to preliminary data.

Antarctic sea ice extent was by far the lowest on record, with the maximum extent at the end of winter at 1 million km2 below the previous record year - equivalent to the size of France and Germany combined.

“The climate crisis is THE defining challenge that humanity faces and is closely intertwined with the inequality crisis – as witnessed by growing food insecurity and population displacement, and biodiversity loss” said Celeste Saulo.

The number of people who are acutely food insecure worldwide has more than doubled, from 149 million people before the COVID-19 pandemic to 333 million people in 2023 (in 78 monitored countries by the World Food Programme). Weather and climate extremes may not be the root cause, but they are aggravating factors, according to the report.

Weather hazards continued to trigger displacement in 2023, showing how climate shocks undermine resilience and create new protection risks among the most vulnerable populations.

The State of the Global Climate report was released in time for World Meteorological Day on 23 March. It also sets the scene for a new climate action campaign by the UN Development Programme and WMO to be launched on 21 March. It will inform discussions at a climate ministerial meeting in Copenhagen on 21-22 March.

Dozens of experts and partners contribute to the report, including UN organizations, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and Global Data and Analysis Centers, as well as Regional Climate Centres, the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW), the Global Cryosphere Watch and Copernicus Climate Change Service operated by ECMWF.

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