Climate report.. 2024 is the year of climate disasters and unprecedented heat in the history of the Earth

Arab Weather - The year 2024 witnessed a year of exceptional climate events that greatly affected human health, ecosystems, and infrastructure around the world. This year witnessed unprecedented rises in temperatures, an increase in floods, droughts, and fires, which reflects the increasing effects of climate change.

Heavy flooding and severe weather conditions

According to the report issued by the Climate Change Service (Copernicus), heavy rainfall, in some cases reaching record levels, caused flash floods in many parts of the world. For example, California in January, the Persian Gulf countries in April, and eastern Spain in October experienced severe flooding. Many regions, including Southeast Asia and Australia, also experienced flooding caused by atmospheric rivers, tropical cyclones, and monsoon rains. From January to December, the world was hit by a large number of tropical cyclones that affected infrastructure and populations around the world, such as the Madagascar cyclone, the Australian cyclone Lincoln, and the East Asian cyclone Gami.

Severe heat waves on all continents

The year 2024 saw intense heat waves that broke several temperature records in regions such as southeastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, parts of the Americas, Central and Eastern Asia, southern Africa, and Australia. Dry conditions in some areas led to unprecedented heat waves. The Middle East and southern Europe were among the regions most affected by this warming, which was accompanied by a lack of rainfall in many places such as South America and southern Africa.

Widespread fires in several areas

Dry conditions, caused by a lack of rainfall and high temperatures, have fueled wildfires in many regions. North and South America have been the continents most affected by the fires, with Canada, Brazil and Bolivia seeing record-breaking carbon emissions. Canada experienced major fires in July and August, while Bolivia and Venezuela saw their highest carbon emissions on record.

Causes of these exceptional climate events

There are many reasons that led to these exceptional climatic phenomena, and climate changes resulting from human activities play the largest role in accelerating these events. The factors that contributed to this include:

2023-2024 El Niño event: This climate phenomenon caused ocean temperatures to rise, accelerating global warming at an unprecedented rate, with sea surface temperatures hitting record highs in most of the world's oceans, especially in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Hunga Tonga volcano eruption in January 2022: This volcanic event increased water vapor in the stratosphere, contributing to climate warming.

Sulfur dioxide emissions from shipping: The low levels of air particles from these emissions have contributed to the acceleration of warming.

Changes in low cloud coverage: This has led to increased absorption of solar radiation, which has enhanced climate warming.

Solar cycle peak: Increase in solar radiation contributed to warming of the Earth.

Water vapor feedback mechanism: Additional water vapor in the atmosphere contributed to the greenhouse effect, leading to increased warming.

Future expectations

According to projections, 2025 is likely to be the third or second warmest year on record. Extreme weather events are expected to continue in the coming years due to continued human-caused global warming.

The report indicates that global average temperatures are expected to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in the coming years, which poses major challenges for humanity in confronting climate change.

In summary, 2024 saw several extreme weather events that impacted people and ecosystems around the world. These events may be due to accelerated climate change caused by human activities, along with the effects of phenomena such as El Niño and volcanic eruptions. If these trends continue, the climate challenges we faced in 2024 may become more frequent in the future.