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For the first time in history, we have a pathway to providing virtually unlimited, low-cost energy to everyone – Earthday.org Earth Day celebrates its 55th anniversary on Tuesday 22 April under the Our Power, Our Planet theme, with a clarion call for “everyone to unite around renewable energy so we can triple clean electricity by 2030.” “For 55 years, Earth Day has led the world in educating and mobilising the public to take action to address critically important environmental issues. “We are global advocates for the health of the planet, calling for the protection of our air, oceans, soil, ecosystems, wildlife, and human health,” said earthday.org. “April 22nd, 2025 will mark the 55th anniversary of Earth Day. 192 countries and over one billion people around the globe are expected to participate, demonstrating the longstanding convening power of Earth Day to bring people from all walks of life to work together for a better future.” Latest climate change data raises concern Data in a recently released report – State of the Global Climate 2024 – by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) shows that “the clear signs of human-induced climate change reached new heights in 2024, with some of the consequences being irreversible over hundreds if not thousands of years.” The WMO is a specialised agency of the UN responsible for promoting international cooperation in atmospheric science and meteorology. The report said that long-term global warming is currently estimated to be between 1.34°C and 1.41°C compared to the 1850-1900 baseline based on a range of methods – although it noted the uncertainty ranges in global temperature statistics. A WMO team of international experts is examining this further in order to “ensure consistent, reliable tracking of long-term global temperature changes to be aligned with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).” “Regardless of the methodology used, every fraction of a degree of warming matters and increases risks and costs to society. “The record global temperatures seen in 2023 and broken in 2024 were mainly due to the ongoing rise in greenhouse gas emissions, coupled with a shift from a cooling La Niña to warming El Niño event. “Several other factors may have contributed to the unexpectedly unusual temperature jumps, including changes in the solar cycle, a massive volcanic eruption and a decrease in cooling aerosols,” according to the report. Temperatures just a small part of a much bigger picture “Data for 2024 show that our oceans continued to warm, and sea levels continued to rise. The frozen parts of Earth’s surface, known as the cryosphere, are melting at an alarming rate: glaciers continue to retreat, and Antarctic sea ice reached its second-lowest extent ever recorded. Meanwhile, extreme weather continues to have devastating consequences around the world,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. Tropical cyclones, floods, droughts and other hazards in 2024 led to the highest number of new displacements recorded for the past 16 years, contributed to worsening food crises and caused massive economic losses. “In response, WMO and the global community are intensifying efforts to strengthen early warning systems and climate services to help decision-makers and society at large be more resilient to extreme weather and climate. “We are making progress but need to go further and need to go faster. Only half of all countries worldwide have adequate early warning systems. This must change,” said Saulo. Investment in weather, water and climate services is more important than ever to meet the challenges and build safer, more resilient communities, she said. The report is based on scientific contributions from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, WMO Regional Climate Centres, UN partners and dozens of experts. Key climate indicators Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, as well as methane and nitrous oxide, are at the highest levels in the last 800,000 years. Real-time data from specific locations show that levels of these three main greenhouse gases continued to increase in 2024. Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for generations, trapping heat. Global Mean Near-surface Temperature In addition to 2024 setting a new record, each of the past 10 years, 2015-2024, were individually the 10 warmest years on record. The record temperature in 2024 was boosted by a strong El Niño which peaked at the start of the year. In every month between June 2023 and December 2024, monthly average global temperatures exceeded all monthly records prior to 2023. Record levels of greenhouse gases were the primary driver, with the shift to El Niño playing a lesser role. Ocean Heat Content Around 90% of the energy trapped by greenhouse gases in the Earth system is stored in the ocean. In 2024, ocean heat content reached its highest level in the 65-year observational record. Each of the past eight years has set a new record. The rate of ocean warming over the past two decades, 2005-2024, is more than twice that in the period 1960-2005. Ocean Acidification Acidification of the ocean surface is continuing, as shown by the steady decrease of global average ocean surface pH. The most intense regional decreases are in the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, the northern tropical Pacific and some regions in the Atlantic Ocean. Global Mean Sea Level In 2024, global mean sea level was the highest since the start of the satellite record in 1993 and the rate of increase from 2015-2024 was double that from 1993–2002, increasing from 2.1 mm per year to 4.7 mm per year. |
