An alarming report released by the
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a wake-up call for
humanity to take immediate action to tackle the climate crisis,
Italian activists said on Tuesday.
The WMO report said there is a 50:50 chance of the annual
average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5 °C above the
pre-industrial level for at least one of the next five years,
adding that the likelihood is increasing with time.
There is a 93% likelihood of at least one year between 2022-2026
becoming the warmest on record and dislodging 2016 from the top
ranking, according to the Global Annual to Decadal Climate
Update, produced by the United Kingdom's Met Office, the WMO
lead centre for such predictions.
The chance of the five-year average for 2022-2026 being higher
than the last five years (2017-2021) is also 93%, it said.
"The window of time to avoid climatic, environmental, social,
economic, financial and political impacts even more devastating
and destructive than the current ones is shrinking every day we
fail to take bold, concrete action towards a real net-zero
carbon, regenerative economy for humanity and our planet," said
Dr Paola Fiore, the national coordinator of the Italian section
of the Climate Reality Project.
"We need a real transformation at all levels of society.
Everyone has the moral imperative to act and take their share of
the responsibility," Dr Fiore told ANSA.
"Climate scientists and the World Meteorological Organization
keep updating and warning us about the climate and health
crises.
"As now there is the 93% probability that at least one year from
2022-2026 will be the warmest on record, which means in the next
five years the safest scenario for humanity to stay below 1.5°C
might be forever lost".
As in the rest of the world, the climate crisis is already
having a massive impact in Italy.
Northern Italy, for example, is suffering a major drought that,
among other things, has caused big problems for farmers and
affected hydroelectric energy production.
Italy is being hit with intense heat waves with increasing
frequency, which is affecting people's health and contributing
to a rise in the number of wildfires the nation suffers.
A European record temperature of 48.8 degrees C was recorded in
Sicily last August.
"Governments and fossil fuel companies all over the world have
delayed climate action, convincing the public that we have time
until 2050 to act on climate change" Filippo Sotgiu, a
mathematics student and climate activist with Fridays For Future
Italia, told ANSA.
"This report brings us back to reality: we don't have that much
time.
"Huge emissions reductions must be achieved by 2030 - and rich
countries like Italy and the UK must get close to zero emissions
by that date - because otherwise, nothing will stop the
temperature rise that is bringing us near to dangerous tipping
points, earlier than expected".
The WMO report said that the chance of temporarily exceeding
1.5°C has risen steadily since 2015, when it was close to zero.
For the years between 2017 and 2021, there was a 10% chance of
exceedance. That probability has increased to nearly 50% for the
2022-2026 period.
"This study shows - with a high level of scientific skill - that
we are getting measurably closer to temporarily reaching the
lower target of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change," said
WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.
"The 1.5°C figure is not some random statistic. It is rather an
indicator of the point at which climate impacts will become
increasingly harmful for people and indeed the entire planet.
"For as long as we continue to emit greenhouse gases,
temperatures will continue to rise.
"And alongside that, our oceans will continue to become warmer
and more acidic, sea ice and glaciers will continue to melt, sea
level will continue to rise and our weather will become more
extreme.
"Arctic warming is disproportionately high and what happens in
the Arctic affects all of us."
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