The last seven years could turn out to be the hottest in history

The seven years between 2015 and 2021 will probably be the longest warm recorded to date, announced the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in a report in which it warns that the climate is entering “unknown territory.”

This annual report on the state of the climate “It is based on the latest scientific data showing that the planet is changing before our eyes”said the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, quoted in the text.

“From the ocean depths to the mountain tops, from the melting of glaciers to relentless extreme weather events, , added.

The text, prepared from observations on the ground and through satellites of meteorological services from around the world, is published at the beginning of the UN climate change conference, COP 26, this Sunday.

The Scottish city of Glasgow hosts this key conference, in which the international community must step up its fight to and ideally bring it to a maximum of + 1.5ºC.

The COP 26 “it must be a turning point for people and the planet “Guterres maintained.

The report is based on the historical records of temperatures on the planet, and in particular uses the period 1850-1910 that the UN climate experts (IPCC) use as a basis to compare with today.

Humanity is currently emitting much more than twice the greenhouse gas emissions compared to that time.

These historical records do not take into account, however, those that are recorded thanks to climatic paleontology.

Alarming tone

The tone of the WMO report is alarming, linking droughts, forest fires, major floods in different regions of the planet with the

“2021 is less warm than recent years due to the influence of a moderate La Niña episode that occurred at the beginning of the year. La Niña has a temporary cooling effect on the global average temperature and affects regional meteorological and climatic conditions. In 2021, the La Niña seal was clearly observed in the tropical Pacific ”, he remembered the text.

However, the average temperature of the last 20 years exceeds for the first time

“The persistent above-average rainfall during the first half of the year in some parts of northern South America, especially in the northern Amazon basin, caused severe and long-lasting flooding in the region,” added the text.

And at the same time, “For the second year in a row, there were major droughts that devastated a large part of the subtropical region of South America. The precipitations were very inferior to the average in most of the south of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the north of Argentina ”.

Experts acknowledge that they have used a system of, that is, the study of extreme natural phenomena quickly after they have happened, to determine to what extent they are the responsibility of human activity.

“The IPCC noted that there has been an increase in heavy rainfall in East Asia, but there is a low level of confidence regarding human influence,” recognizes for example text.

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