Page 4 - AfrElec Week 20 2022

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

More proof that climate change

threatens lives and causes

economic damage

GLOBAL HUMAN activity has caused irrevocable dam- 0.13) °C above the pre-industrial level.
age to the climate, causing hundreds of billions “It is just a matter of time before we see
of dollars of economic damage and threatening another warmest year on record,” said WMO
water and food supplies to millions of people. secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
The World Meteorological Organization “Our climate is changing before our eyes. The
(WMO) warned this week that four key climate heat trapped by human-induced greenhouse
change indicators – greenhouse gas concentra- gases will warm the planet for many generations
tions, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidi- to come. Sea level rise, ocean heat and acidifica-
fication – all set new records in 2021. tion will continue for hundreds of years unless
The WMO said this was yet another clear means to remove carbon from the atmosphere
sign that human activities were causing plan- are invented. Some glaciers have reached the
etary scale changes on land, in the ocean, and point of no return and this will have long-term
in the atmosphere. This is causing harmful and repercussions in a world in which more than 2
long-lasting ramifications for sustainable devel- billion people already experience water stress.”
opment and ecosystems. “Extreme weather has the most immediate
The most obvious sign of these changes impact on our daily lives. Years of investment in
is extreme weather, and the WMO’s State of disaster preparedness means that we are better
the Global Climate in 2021 report, published at saving lives, though economic losses are soar-
together with the World Economic Forum, ing. But much more needs to be done, as we are
showed that the past seven years have been the seeing with the drought emergency unfolding in
warmest seven years on record. The average the Horn of Africa, the recent deadly flooding in
global temperature in 2021 was about 1.11 (± South Africa and the extreme heat in India and

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 20 19•May•2022