The United Nations Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that disasters will become more common if the world fails to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in line with what research shows is needed to prevent the worst effects of global warming.
- Floods, droughts, heat waves, extreme storms and forest fires are getting worse, says UN chief António Guterres.
- There is nothing natural about the new scale of these disasters.
They are the price of humanity's dependence on fossil fuels.
The corona pandemic led to the largest reduction in carbon dioxide emissions on record.
But now the emissions are greater than they were before the pandemic.
Despite more than three decades of UN-led negotiations, there is little sign that the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to preferably 1.5 degrees will be met.
The countries' ambitions for 2030 must be four times as high as today in order to limit warming to two degrees, and seven times as high in order to limit it to 1.5 degrees.