WMO says this decade has been the hottest ever recorded

U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s Provisional Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2019 was just released and has found that this past decade could quite possibly be the hottest in recorded history. 

2019 concludes a decade of exceptional global heat, retreating ice and record sea levels. Average temps for 10-year (2010-2019) period set to be highest on record. 2019 is on course to be 2nd or 3rd warmest year on record. #StateofClimate #COP25 #ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/zeFW3ZnyMu

— WMO | OMM (@WMO) December 3, 2019

According to EcoWatch, The report found that the mean temperatures for January through October 2019 were around 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and that 2019 would likely be the second or third warmest year on record, meaning the past five years “are now almost certain” to be the five warmest years on the books.

“Heatwaves and floods which used to be ‘once-in-a-century’ events are becoming more regular occurrences. Countries ranging from the Bahamas to Japan to Mozambique suffered the effect of devastating tropical cyclones. Wildfires swept through the Arctic and Australia,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “If we do not take urgent climate action now, then we are heading for a temperature increase of more than 3°C by the end of the century, with ever more harmful impacts on human wellbeing.”

Along with this data, it has been reported that the year 2019 specifically is likely to be the second or third warmest year on record. 

The report also claims: 

1. Global atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases reached record levels in 2018 with carbon dioxide and continued to increase in 2019.
2. The global mean temperature for January to October 2019 was 1.1±0.1°C above pre-industrial levels.
3. The ocean absorbs over 90% of the heat trapped in the Earth system by rising concentrations of greenhouse gases. Ocean heat content, which is a measure of this heat accumulation, reached record levels again in 2019. As the ocean warms, sea levels rise.
4. 2019 saw low sea-ice extent both in the Arctic and Antarctic.
5. Extreme heat conditions are taking an increasing toll on human health and health systems.
6. In addition to conflicts, insecurity and economic slowdowns and downturns, climate variability and extreme weather events are among the key drivers of the recent rise in global hunger and one of the leading causes of severe food crises.

WMO published this report on the second day of the COP25 UN climate change conference in Madrid. The world’s top climate scientists have praised WMO for communicating the urgency of the crisis and encourages lawmakers to take the report seriously.