WMO Predicts Extreme Weather Events and Natural Disasters amid Climate Change

The more and more we look into the future of the planet, the grimmer it gets. Climate change, human impact and other factors are pushing the planet toward an ultimate crisis. Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently predicted that extreme weather events and natural disasters will rise exponentially due to climate change.

The chief of WMO, Petteri Taalas said that the cause of the recent torrential rainstorms and flooding in Western Europe was the rapidly changing climatic patterns, which is likely to get worse with time.

WMO predicted that extreme weather events and natural disasters will exacerbate in coming years amid climate change | Image: Rhein-Erft-Kreis/Cologne District Government/Associated Press

The recent climatic events have caused flooding in many European countries and wildfires ravaging through the Northern American regions. Meanwhile, various studies and organizations have predicted that these events will only exacerbate in the coming years.

He said,

We have always had extreme weather events, but because of climate change, we have started seeing them more often and they are more intense. Without climate change, we wouldn’t have observed such high temperatures in western parts of Canada and the US, so that’s a clear indication of climate change.

Taalas said that even if humankind succeeds with climate mitigation today, this negative trend could still continue till the 2060s. It means that all the inhabitants of the earth need to adapt to climate change, while simultaneously eradicating the usage of fossil fuels.

Various studies and organizations have predicted these events to exacerbate in the coming years | Image: Noah Berger/AP

Many countries across the world have pledged to eliminate carbon emissions and reach a climate-neutral world by mid-century. However, most of them are failing to meet their set targets.

Taalas further added that no region in the world was safe from the damaging impacts of extreme weather events and natural disasters. More destructive natural events are expected, much like the last year’s hurricanes in the Caribbean, super typhoons in Asia and cyclones hitting the Pacific Islands and southern parts of Asia.

Tackling the phenomenon of global warming hasn’t been more urgent than the present, only then we can hope for the survival of the planet and all of its inhabitants.

Via: The Weather Channel