The World Meteorological Organization’s annual “State of the Global Climate” report is out today. It’s packed full of numbers from 2024 that tell an alarming story:
Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are now at their highest point in 800,000 years.
The average global temperature last year was 1.55 degrees Celsius (2.79 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
The ocean was the hottest it’s ever been in the 65-year observational record, and the ocean is warming more than twice as fast now as it was between 1960 and 2005.
There were 151 “unprecedented” extreme weather events in 2024, causing the highest number of new displacements of humans since 2008.
Sea levels are rising at double the rate seen in 1993.
The world’s glaciers have lost more mass over the past three years than in any other three-year period on record.
“WMO and the global community are intensifying efforts to strengthen early warning systems and climate services to help decision-makers and society at large be more resilient to extreme weather and climate,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “We are making progress but need to go further and need to go faster. Only half of all countries worldwide have adequate early warning systems. This must change.”
The southern states who voted for Trump and his anti-environment supporters (fossil fuel corporations, financial corporations, and people with funny red hats) are now suffering the effects (deaths, injuries, monetary and displacement) of climate change due to global warming. More tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, infrastructure failures, electrical power disruptions, natural gas disruptions, and travel disruptions.
Hoping that we get the blizzard, but prelim report only shows a couple of inches. But should be able to go to the UP this weekend after it calms down and get some good skiing in.
Last Saturday, I biked on the local railtrail in shorts and t-shirt, 72 degrees. Weather drastically changed overnight, and I xc ski’d Sunday and Monday. The trail on Monday was awesome, like primetime conditions. So hoping the storm hits us harder than weatherman is showing.
I’m at 767 xc ski miles this season, it’s been a good season, even though March has been really weak, weather-wise. Made the most out of all of the opportunities that presented themselves. Sure would like to ski locally in April, fingers crossed.
Or not. Over the last six decades (with warming) the trend for tornadoes, except for the least severe F1 category, is a statistically significant decreasing one.
