The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has 193 member countries, out of which extreme weather events happened in more than half– including Pakistan– in 2024, in 103 member countries. Last year, 617 extreme weather events happened in these 103 member countries, out of which 152 were ‘unprecedented’ extreme events, while 297 were ‘unusual’. These extreme weather events caused 1700 deaths, injuring 1.1 million people, while 0.8 million people got displaced.
In terms of frequency of a particular extreme weather event out of a total of 617 extreme weather events, most were recorded in terms of ‘heat waves’, which stood at 137 events, including in Pakistan. There were 115 extreme events in the shape of ‘rain/wet spell’, followed by 104 ‘flood’ events, 47 ‘tropical cyclone’ events, 44 were ‘drought/dry spell’ events, 29 events were ‘thunderstorms/squall lines’, 24 ‘wind’ events, and 22 were ‘cold wave’ events.
Other extreme events that happened in 2024, and which were less than 20 in terms of frequency, were 15 ‘hail’ events, 14 ‘wild land fire/forest fire’ events, with ‘lightning’ events at 11. Here, events that happened less than 10 times, were 9 ‘dust storm/sandstorm’ and ‘landslide/mudslide & debris flow’ events each, respectively, followed by 6 ‘fog/haze/smog’ events, 6 ‘snow’ events, 6 were ‘snow’ and ‘snowstorm’ events each, respectively, 6 ‘tornado’ events, 4 were ‘high seas/rogue waves’, 3 were ‘extra-tropical cyclone events’, 2 ‘frost’ events, and 1 event each happened of ‘avalanche’, ‘icing/freezing rain’, ‘pollen pollution/polluted air’, and ‘storm surge/coastal flood’, respectively.
According to WMO, in terms of the extreme weather event ‘heat wave’ that happened in Pakistan last year during June 23-28, mainly in the plain areas of the country, and where at some places maximum temperature that was recorded, stood at 45°C. Moreover, WMO noted in terms of ‘economic losses’ that ‘Heat waves typically cause significant losses to agriculture, livestock, infrastructure, and tourism; however, these impacts are often not documented in official reports in Pakistan.’ The government, therefore, must enhance its resolve, in terms of institutional focus, and finances, so that this vast-natured impact is properly measured, and analysed. At the same time, it is of utmost importance that multilateral technical support, and climate finance, should enhance their otherwise low-level support with regard to climate change related issues in the country.
There is, in fact, a much-improved multilateral effort needed globally to appropriately deal with the existential threat of the climate change crisis. For instance, a March 18 Guardian-published article ‘Countries must bolster climate efforts or risk war, Cop30 chief executive warns’ by the newspaper’s environment editor, Fiona Harvey, quoted the chief executive of COP30– where COP30 Summit is to be held during November 6-7 in Belem, Brazil– Ana Toni as follows: ‘Countries looking to boost their national security through rearmament or increased defence spending must also bolster their climate efforts or face more wars in the future, one of the leaders of the next UN climate summit has warned. Some countries could decide to include climate spending in their defence budgets, suggested Ana Toni, Brazil’s chief executive of the Cop30 summit. “Climate change is an accelerator of inequalities and poverty, and we know that the consequences of inequality and poverty can turn into wars in the future,” she said. “The fight against climate change needs to be seen as something that’s not divorced from the big security issue of humanity.”’
Sadly, even after years of statements by global climate related institutions pointing towards urgent need to step up effort, the response has been lukewarm globally both in terms of improving the philosophical, and technical orientation of multilateral institutions– especially in terms of moving away from neoliberal, and austerity-based policies, and with regard to better provision of debt relief, and much more appropriate sovereign debt restructuring framework– and also with regard to very low commitment shown by developed countries, overall, in terms of climate finance, both bilaterally, and with regard to adequate release of climate change related International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) special drawing rights (SDRs) related allocations for developing countries, in particular those, like Pakistan, which are highly climate change vulnerable, and also deeply debt indebted.
Noted Guardian columnist, George Monbiot, for instance in his 12 September 2024 article, wrote ‘Out of 1,500 global climate policies, only 63 have really worked. That’s where green spin has got us’ and pointed out ‘Another example is making oil from algae, whose rapid deployment fossil fuel companies trumpeted 15 years ago. Hundreds of millions was spent on advertising this “fuel of the future”. Since then, their research programmes have quietly been shelved. As one former employee of Exxon’s algae research arm, missing what I see as the entire point, complained: “I wish they had given us more research funding versus spending so much on advertising.”’
While a single year above 1.5°C of warming does not indicate that the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement are out of reach, it is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and the planet. Over the course of 2024, our oceans continued to warm, sea levels continued to rise, and acidification increased.
Moreover, the writer indicating lack of focus of UK government– in this case, but can be seen in many countries– to deal with climate change, and apparently being more interested in creating the perception that serious effort is being made, pointed out in the same article ‘But perhaps the clearest example of perception ware is the repeated unveiling, across the past 25 years, of mumbo-jumbo jets. Throughout this period, fossil fuel and airline companies have announced prototype green aircraft or prototype green fuels, none of which has made any significant dent in emissions or, in most cases, materialised at all. Their sole effect so far has been to help companies avoid legislative action.’
In the meantime, climate change is fast-unfolding, where a March 19 Financial Times article ‘Carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere reach 800,000-year high’ commenting on a recently released report by WMO titled ‘State of the global climate 2024’– an annually released report– pointed out ‘The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at its highest point in 800,000 years, according to UN research that found 2024 was likely to have been the hottest year on record and the first to surpass 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In an annual assessment of the climate, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said signs of human-induced climate change “reached new heights” last year, with record greenhouse gas levels— combined with the El Niño weather phenomenon and other factors— causing record heat. “Our planet is issuing more distress signals,” said UN secretary-general António Guterres, urging world leaders to step up climate action.’
In the foreword of the Report by WMO, its secretary-general, Professor Celeste Saulo pointed out with regard to alarming situation of global warming as ‘The annually averaged global mean near-surface temperature in 2024 was 1.55 °C ± 0.13 °C above the 1850–1900 average. This is the warmest year in the 175-year observational record, beating the previous record set only the year before.
While a single year above 1.5°C of warming does not indicate that the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement are out of reach, it is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and the planet. Over the course of 2024, our oceans continued to warm, sea levels continued to rise, and acidification increased.’
