Context

• Recently the World Meteorological Organization released climate change data in its new report "State of the Climate in Asia" 2023.

Key Points

• According to this report, Asia is becoming a hotspot for extreme weather events related to climate, weather and water at the global level, such as floods, storms, droughts, heat waves etc.
• If we talk about the year 2023, then last year Asia had to face more extreme weather disasters than any other region of the world.
• According to these data, Asia faced 79 extreme weather disasters during the year 2023.
• While more than 2,000 people died due to these disasters, the lives of more than 90 lakh people were disrupted due to these disasters.
• Apart from this, during the year 2023, a maximum number of people died due to floods and storms in Asia. Along with this, people also had to suffer huge financial losses.
• It is noteworthy that 80 percent of the extreme weather disasters that occurred in Asia during this period were incidents of floods and storms.
• WMO also said in the report that with the increasing temperature, the effect of heat waves has become more severe than before.
• Asia is warming much faster than the global average. If we look at the period from 1961 to 1990, the trend of increasing temperature in this region has almost doubled.
• According to the data, the average temperature recorded in Asia in 2023 will be 1.87 degrees Celsius higher than the average temperature from 1961 to 1990.
• Marking the changes in climate, the report has given information that surface temperature, rate of melting of glaciers and sea level are increasing rapidly.
• These changes will have a profound impact on Asia's people, economy and ecosystem.
• It is feared that the way the glaciers are melting in this area, it may pose a threat to water security in the future.
• Similarly, the sea surface temperature and heat have also reached record levels.
• In 2023, sea surface temperatures in the northwest Pacific Ocean reached record highs, while the Arctic Ocean also experienced a marine heat wave.
• If seen globally, the sea level is rising at the rate of 3.43 mm per year. But if we look at the north-west Indian Ocean, this rate was recorded at 4.07 mm per year between 1993 and 2023, which is much higher than the global average.
• In the north-eastern Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal, a rise in sea level of 4.44 mm per year was also recorded during this period. Which is 29.5 percent more than the rise in sea level at the global level.
• This trend of rising water level was also recorded in the south-east Indian Ocean (4.19). Similarly, in 2023, sea surface temperature reached a record level in the northwest Pacific Ocean.

Impact of climate change on India

• The report also highlights the climate and extreme weather disasters that could occur in India during 2023.
• In August 2023, India experienced record temperatures. Also, an unexpected decrease in rainfall was also seen this month.
• During the year 2023, there was a late onset of monsoon in India, during which the monsoon was also somewhat weak, when 94 percent of the normal (average rainfall from 1971 to 2020) rainfall was recorded.
• This was the second consecutive year that parts of south-west India, the Ganga catchment and the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra recorded below normal rainfall.
• In 2023, 1,200 people died in India due to typhoons and celestial disasters.
• Apart from this, Cyclone Michong that hit Andhra Pradesh in South India has also been mentioned in this report. This cyclone hit Andhra Pradesh on December 5, 2023.
• At the same time, at least 599 people have died in floods and storm incidents in different parts of the country between June and July 2023.
• Similarly, due to large-scale floods and landslides in August 2023, many states of the country such as; Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were affected.
• Apart from this, 110 people died of heatstroke due to extreme heat and heat waves in India during April and June.
• Similarly, dense fog and haze along with many hazardous pollutants had a deep impact on the daily lives of people in parts of North-West South Asia including India, Pakistan in October 2023.
• Apart from this, according to this report, if we compare the average temperature from the year 1991 to the year 2020, the temperature near the surface in many parts of Eastern India has increased by one degree Celsius.
• These areas include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Jammu Kashmir, Ladakh and Tripura.
• Similarly, some parts of West Bengal, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand are included.

Conclusion

• In view of the above circumstances, it can be said that the present time is no less than a disaster emergency for the entire Asia-Pacific region including India.
• In such a situation, if timely attention is not given to them, then with an increase of two degrees Celsius in temperature, the loss caused by these disasters can increase to Rs 82 lakh crore.
• As a result, if immediate action is not taken on this growing climate crisis, the entire Asia-Pacific region including India may have to pay a heavy price.

Important Facts For Exams

World Meteorological Organization

• It is an intergovernmental organisation with a membership of 192 member nations and territories.
• It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was established in 1873 after the Vienna International Meteorological Congress.
• Headquartered : Geneva, Switzerland