Monday 6 November 2017

‘Extraordinary weather’ to make 2017 one of hottest years

This year has been forecast to be one of the three hottest years on record.

The world has seen many high impact events in 2017, including catastrophic hurricanes and floods, heatwaves and drought, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

It found the average global temperature from January to September 2017 was round 1.1°C above pre-industrial era.

Its report suggests long term indicators of climate change such as increasing carbon dioxide concentrations, sea level rise and ocean acidification continue unabated.

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said: “The past three years have all been in the top three years in terms of temperature records. This is part of a long term warming trend.

“We have witnessed extraordinary weather, including temperatures topping 50°C in Asia, record-breaking hurricanes in rapid succession in the Caribbean and Atlantic reaching as far as Ireland, devastating monsoon flooding affecting many millions of people and a relentless drought in East Africa.

“Many of these events – and detailed scientific studies will determine exactly how many – bear the tell-tale sign of climate change caused by increased greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities.”