UN Weather Agency: 2023 Will Become The Hottest Year In History

Illustration. A resident crossed the area affected by the dry drought in the Botok Reservoir, Sragen, Central Java on Tuesday, May 25, 2023. (ANTARA-Mohammad Ayudha)

JAKARTA - The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) or the UN weather agency revealed that 2023 has the high potential to be the hottest year in history. In response to this, WMO emphasized the importance of taking steps to overcome climate change.

According to WMO, flood disaster warnings, forest fires, glacier disbursement, and heat waves will become common and more intense in the future.

WMO explained that the global average temperature in 2023 has increased by about 1.4 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industry.

While the current global temperature is only 0.1 degrees below the 1.5 degrees C=celcius limit set by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.

The Paris Climate Agreement is known to be an international agreement signed by nearly 200 countries aimed at preventing a global temperature rise of no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

Based on an Antara report, WMO reports that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has soared to 50 percent above the level it has recorded in the pre-industrial era.

The global weather agency warned that temperatures would continue to rise over the years ahead.

The alarming increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere suggests that temperatures will continue to rise over the long term, even if drastic emission reduction measures are implemented, he said.

The agency also highlighted that the 2015 to 2023 period was the warmest period ever recorded.

Although the findings cover data until October, WMO confirmed that the last two months of this year could not have been enough to prevent 2023 from becoming the hottest year ever recorded in history.