New Delhi: As the world’s attention was on the Israel-Hamas war, an important event in the Earth’s history almost flew under the radar. For the first time, global temperatures momentarily crossed the 2 degree Celsius mark above pre-industrial levels — something scientists have been warning about for decades. 2023 is officially the hottest year on record, according to the World Meteorological Organisation.
It’s been a year scarred by extreme weather events across the globe, from flash floods to heat waves. ThePrint looks at 10 climate disasters of the year that call for a now-or-never approach to check the climate crisis.
Wildfires in Canada
In the summer of 2023, wildfires raged across Canada, burning a record-breaking 18.4 million hectares of land. The fires raged in May, June, July, and August, and led to evacuation of over 50,000 people in the country. While wildfires have occurred before in Western Canada, it has never been at this scale. The smoke caused severe air pollution not just in Canadian cities like Toronto but also in New York, which faced its worst air quality in 50 years due to the fires.
Cyclone Biparjoy
The Biparjoy cyclone in the Arabian Sea hit India and Pakistan in June, with over 1,80,000 people evacuated from the coastal regions. With a total life of 13 days and three hours (depression to depression), Cyclone Biparjoy was the longest duration cyclonic storm in the northern Indian Ocean since 1977, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The cyclone indicates a larger trend of frequency of cyclones in Arabian Sea, with scientists saying it is due to increasing sea surface temperatures — driven by global warming. Climate change is also seen to increase the duration of tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea, leading to sustained damages.
Heatwaves in India
The summer of 2023 saw scorching heat waves across northern and peninsular India. According to the IMD, several cities in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan recorded temperatures over 44°C in April and May. At least 99 people died in UP and Bihar together, and the number is said to be more but there is no accurate data available.
A report by World Weather Attribution showed that human-induced climate change made the 2023 heatwaves 2°C warmer than usual, and that the frequency of these events would increase with increased global warming.
Floods in Horn of Africa
Floods due to heavy rainfall in the Horn of Africa region claimed 130 lives in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The floods, which began in October, displaced over 7,00,000 people in East Africa. The extreme El Nino weather phenomenon, and higher-than-average sea surface temperatures led to an increase in rainfall, and subsequently flooding in these countries.
These floods followed the worst drought in 40 years that affected the region from 2020 to 2023. Almost 20 million people were faced with acute food insecurity in these countries due to human-induced climate change according to a study by World Weather Attribution.
Anticyclone & wildfires in Europe
Europe huffed and puffed under high temperatures in July due to an anti-cyclone, a system of high-pressure winds that raised temperatures. Cities in Northern Italy, France, and Greece routinely saw 43-44°C temperatures. Cerberus — the monstrous three-headed watchdog from Greek mythology — was the name given to the heatwave. The Copernicus Climate Change system analysed European heatwaves as directly resulting from climate change, and predicted long-term warming trends for the continent.
Greece also suffered devastating wildfires in the summer, killing at least 28 people. The United Nations Environment Programme predicts a 14 percent increase in extreme wildfires induced by climate change by 2030.
Also Read: Carbon trading to climate fund negotiations — what to expect from COP28 in Dubai
Sikkim glacial lake outburst
Back at home, a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in Sikkim, leading to flash floods in the Teesta river that left around 89 dead and 100 missing in October. The South Lhonak lake that feeds the Teesta burst its banks, causing heavy flooding. The flash floods also washed away the Chungthang dam and left a trail of destruction. As global warming causes more glaciers to melt, the occurrence of these GLOF events increases manifold, according to scientists.
‘Heat dome’ in the US
The Indian subcontinent wasn’t the only place to bear the brunt of extreme heatwaves this year. Death Valley in Southern California recorded one of the world’s highest temperatures ever at 53.3°C in July. Other parts of the US, too, faced a heat dome — a concentrated heat sphere that descended over most of the Southern US — raising temperatures to the extremes.
Aside from that, the US faced tumultuous weather conditions, including 19 severe storms, 1 tropical storm, and 2 flooding events that led to the death of almost 500 people. Each of these events caused damages worth a billion dollars, according to US government data.
Major slowdown of Antarctic currents
In March, a study of the deep ocean currents below and around Antarctica, showed that these large-scale oceanic water patterns are slowing down.
This has gigantic implications for oceanic weather systems, atmospheric weather systems, seasons, transport of nutrients in the world’s waters, and more.
The study showed that these currents could slow down by as much as 40 percent. The water mass below 4,000m under Antarctica, where all other oceans merge with the southern ocean, is the densest mass of water in the world. Here, too, scientists found that life-giving water currents are in a “fast slowdown”.
Libya floods
In terms of human toll, the floods in Libya in September were the worst this year has seen — almost 4,000 people died, and 9,000 more missing based on the United Nations data.
The floods were caused by Storm Daniel, a tropical storm that made landfall on 10 September, and heavy rainfall that were made 50 times more likely by climate change, found World Weather Attribution. The organisation analyses climate disasters by modeling their likelihood in a world without the 1.2°C warming caused by climate change. It found that even with human-induced climate change, the rainfall experienced in Libya is categorised as ‘extreme’. Apart from climate change, the huge loss of life is also attributed to lack of preparedness by authorities.
Earth breaches 6 out of 9 planetary boundaries
Scientists in September released data showing how our Earth has already breached six of nine planetary boundaries — the set of necessary ecological conditions that allow for life to exist on the planet.
The findings show that Earth had already exceeded the upper boundary conditions for permissible factors like particulate matter emission, integrity of the biosphere, radiative forcing (increase in energy absorbed by earth than emitted by earth into space, heating up the planet), and more. The increase in sea surface temperatures also came into prominence this year, with oceanic temperatures in August reaching nearly 21°C.
(Edited by Tony Rai)