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Geneva : United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged countries to take urgent climate action to tackle worsening extreme weather risks ahead of El Nino.
Sharing a press statement issued by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Guterres said the climate phenomenon would intensify the impacts of global warming and increase the frequency of extreme weather events worldwide.
“The science is clear: El Nino is arriving on our doorstep in the coming months with 90 per cent certainty. The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is,” Guterres said.
The WMO statement warned that above-average temperatures are expected across nearly all parts of the globe between June and August, increasing the risks of heat stress, the development of drought conditions and heavy rainfall in some areas.Noting how each El Nino event affects regions differently, the WMO highlighted that South Asia is expected to receive below-average monsoon rainfall this year, according to the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum.
“The Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum (GHACOF) predicts a high likelihood of below-normal rainfall across much of the northern Greater Horn of Africa during the critical June-September rainy season”, the statement said.
For the Central America region, it said that as per the Central America Climate Outlook Forum, the area is expected to experience drier and warmer conditions.
It further mentioned that while rainfall probabilities are typical of El Nino patterns, this is likely to contribute to a greater probability of extremes (e.g. increased rainfall and flooding, as well as drier conditions and droughts.
Calling for immediate global action, the UN chief stressed that the only effective response was “ending the addiction to fossil fuels, accelerating the shift to renewables, protecting the most vulnerable, and delivering early warning systems for all.” (ANI)
