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What is the News?
The World Meteorological Organization(WMO) has released its annual State of the Global Climate Report 2020.
Key Findings of annual State of the Global Climate Report 2020:
- Temperature: 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record, despite a cooling La Niña. The other two warmest years were 2016 and 2019.
- Moreover, the six years since 2015 have been the warmest on record. Further, 2011-2020 was the warmest decade on record.
- Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic: Extreme weather combined with COVID-19 is a double blow for millions of people in 2020. However, the pandemic-related economic slowdown failed to slow down climate change and its impacts.
- Greenhouse Gases: Concentrations of the major greenhouse gases continued to increase in 2019 and 2020 despite a temporary reduction in emissions in 2020 due to the COVID-19 response.
- Oceans: In 2020, the oceans had the highest heat content on the record. Over 80% of the ocean services area experienced at least one marine heatwave in 2020.
- Sea-level rise: Sea level has recently been rising at a higher rate partly due to the increased melting of the ice sheets.
- Arctic Region: In 2020, the Arctic sea-ice extent came down to second-lowest on record.
- Antarctica Region: Antarctic ice sheet has exhibited a strong mass loss trend since the late 1990s. This trend accelerated around 2005.
Findings Related to India:
- India experienced one of its wettest monsoons since 1994, with a seasonal surplus of 9% that led to severe floods and landslides.
- Cyclone Amphan which hit Kolkata in May 2020 was the costliest tropical cyclone for the North Indian Ocean region. It brought about an estimated loss of USD 14 billion.
About World Meteorological Organization (WMO):
- WMO is an intergovernmental organization established by the ratification of the WMO Convention in 1950.
- Origin: WMO originated from the International Meteorological Organization(IMO) which was established after the 1873 Vienna International Meteorological Congress.
- Members: 193 Member States and Territories. India is one of the members.
- Significance: It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
- Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
Source: Down To Earth
