Coming, more frequent, intense extreme weather events: UN climate report

Extreme weather events are likely to be of larger magnitude and increased frequency in the coming times, according to a report of the United Nation’s Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change released on Monday. The driver of these changes is the human-induced climate change, the report adds

The report, approved by 195 member governments of the IPCC, including India, projected that in the coming decades climate changes will increase in all regions. The extreme weather events will be seen at new locations, during different timing, in new combinations i.e. two or more extreme events occurring together.

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Some of the changes have already started — such as continued rise in sea level – and are irreversible.  To minimise damage, nations have to agree to rapid cuts in carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases. But a consensus has so far eluded all meeting on the issue.

Among other things, the report said that the world was warming faster. Even if emissions are cut by nations, global warming is likely to exceed the threshold of 1.5 degree Celsius by 2040, that is it will exceed the 2015 Paris goal.

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On extreme weather conditions, the report says that hot extremes (including heatwaves) have become frequent and more intense across most land regions since the 1950s, while cold extremes (including cold waves) have become less frequent and less severe. The report attributes all these changes to human-induced climate factors.

The regions bearing the brunt of global warming and extreme weather events are the cities because they trap heat and there’s a lack of cooling areas like water and vegetation. “Global warming can be limited by the end of this century but it will take drastic and immediate cuts – from now – in burning fossil fuels and other activities emitting greenhouse gases,” the report adds.

“This report is a reality check,” said IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair Valérie Masson-Delmotte, adding, “We now have a much clearer picture of the past, present and future climate, which is essential for understanding where we are headed, what can be done, and how we can prepare.”