WHO raises Alarm Bells on Climate Change
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) of the United Nations has officially certified the highest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic, raising “alarm bells” concerning climate change.
In June 2020, the “Mediterranean” temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) was recorded in the Siberian town of Verkhoyansk. It was taken at the height of a prolonged heatwave. In reality, the WMO reported in a statement that temperatures in the region were up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) above normal that summer.
“This new Arctic record is one of a string of observations reported to the World Meteorological Organization’s Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes that raise worries about global warming” said the WMO. The WMO’s secretary-general, Petteri Taalas, stated in a statement.
The excessive heat, according to the WMO, “belongs more in the Mediterranean than the Arctic.” “Fueling devastating fires, driving enormous sea ice loss, and having a big part in 2020 being one of three warmest on record years,” says the report.
Wildfires in Siberia were the biggest since records began this year, consuming more than 46 million acres (18.6 million hectares) of Russian forest in 2021 alone, according to data. The smoke from the massive infernos reached the North Pole.
The concerning rising heat in the Artic
The Arctic is warming at a rate more than double that of the rest of the world, triggering drastic changes in its climate and biomes. These include a record number of “zombie firms,” produced by the burning of carbon-rich peat, the thawing of permafrost, and the breaking up of some of the Arctic’s thickest ice. According to a recent article by Live Science, they could discharge radioactive waste and reawaken latent pathogens.
Scientists have even predicted that rising Arctic temperatures will cause the polar bear to go extinct by the end of the century. Increased temperatures are also leading to an increase in the number of “pizzly” bears, a grizzly-polar bear hybrid.
“It is plausible, indeed likely, that the bigger extremes will occur in the Arctic region in the future,” according to the WMO.
The Arctic isn’t the only place in the world where temperatures have reached new highs. Last year, Argentina’s Esperanza Base set a new temperature record of 64.94 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 degrees Celsius) in Antarctica. According to Live Science, a temperature of 119.8 degrees Fahrenheit (48.8 degrees Celsius) was recorded in Syracuse, Italy, this year, making it the highest recorded temperature in European history.
According to reports, California’s Death Valley also suffered near-record-breaking heat this summer, with temperatures reaching 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius). This blistering heat came dangerously close to tying the current world record for the hottest temperature ever recorded anywhere. On July 7, 1931, in Kebili, Tunisia, a scorching 131 F (55 C) was recorded.