BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Asia is warming twice as fast as the global average, according to a report released by the World Meteorological Organization. This rate of warming - which shows no signs of stopping - is leading to devastating consequences for lives and livelihoods across the region, and no country is exempt from the consequences.
'Extreme weather is already exacting an unacceptably high toll,' said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
The WMO report said that Asia is warming twice as fast as global averages because of its large landmass, explaining that temperatures over land increase more quickly than those over sea.
'Variations in surface temperature have a large impact on natural systems and on human beings,' the report said.
The oceans around Asia are also experiencing temperature increases with surface temperatures in the Indian and Pacific Oceans reaching record levels in 2024.
Moreover, prolonged heat waves, both on land and sea, wreaked havoc across the region, leading to melting glaciers and rising sea levels.
Some countries and communities in Asia were ravaged by record rainfall. Northern Kerala in India, for example, experienced a fatal landslide which killed over 350 people.
Record rainfall coupled with snow melt in Kazakhstan, which is home to thousands of glaciers, led to the worst flooding in 70 years.
Others were ravaged by the exact opposite problem - not enough rainfall. A summer long drought in China, for example, affected over 4.76 million people and damaged hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops.
WMO emphasized in the report that the only way to adapt to these increasingly polar weather patterns is to install more comprehensive early warning systems which are coupled with capacity building measures that enable communities to be more resilient.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
