Things are heating up
Besides 2015 and 2016, both El Nino years known for their high temperatures, this is the first La Nina year with excessive temperatures pointing to climate change.
Of late, especially during the past few days, Namibians have been complaining about the scorching heat and soaring temperatures. They appear to be right as this year is set to become the hottest La Nina year on record.
The United Nations weather and climate agency says this year is already on track to be one of the three hottest years of all time, after 2015 and 2016, which were both affected by a powerful El Nino effect, which can contribute to higher temperatures.
Temperatures in the first nine months of this year were unlikely to have been higher than 2016, when there was a strong El Nino weather system, but higher than anything before 2015.
The World Metrological Organisation (WMO) says key indicators of climate change, such as rising carbon dioxide concentrations, rising sea levels and the acidification of oceans, continued unabated this year.
Data thus far this year points to 2017 continuing a long-term trend of record-breaking temperatures around the world, according to the organisation.
It says provisional data suggests this year is set to be one of the hottest three years on record confirming yet again a warming trend that scientists say bears the footprint of human actions.
The secretary-general of the WMO, Petteri Taalas, said further detailed scientific studies would be carried out, but that it was already possible to say many “bear the tell-tale signs of climate change” caused by increased greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities, such as burning fossil fuel and deforestation.
According to him, this recent increase in average global temperatures confirms a renewed warming trend in recent years, which had slowed its pace slightly in the previous decade, leading some climate sceptics to claim global warming had “paused”.
“These findings underline the rising risks to people, economies and the very fabric of life on earth if we fail to get on track with the aims and ambitions of the Paris agreement.”
According to the WMO the global mean temperature from January to September this year was about a half-degree Celsius warmer than the 1981-2010 average, which was estimated to be 14.31 degrees Celsius.
The five-year average temperature from 2013 to 2017 is more than one degree Celsius higher than that during the pre-industrial period.
WMO says 2017 has been marked by higher-than-average rainfall in some places, lower-than-average coverage areas for Arctic sea ice, droughts and flooding, to name but a few.
Namibia experienced a prolonged drought since 2013 and although the 2016/17 rainfall season improved the situation somewhat, there are still areas in the country that suffer from drought conditions.
The latest rainfall predictions for the country indicate normal to above normal rainfall in November and December, and January and February 2018.
The forecast for the 2017 cropping season in southern Africa indicates that most parts of the region can expect adequate rainfall after successive years of debilitating droughts.
In November to December most of the region is expected to receive normal to above normal rainfall and this is expected to continue in most parts in January to March 2018, according to the 20th Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum. November to January may see a reduction in rainfall in some parts of the region, including Namibia, western Botswana, eastern DRC, northern Mozambique, western Zambia and southern Tanzania. During this period the region often experiences a dry spell.
For the period December 2017 to January and February 2018, increased chances of normal to above-normal rainfall are predicted for most of Namibia, while increased chances of normal to above-normal rainfall are expected in the south-western fringe of Namibia.
The results by the WMO were revealed to delegates at the UN's global climate talks being held in Bonn, Germany, during the next two weeks. The COP23 talks, a follow-up to the landmark Paris agreement of 2015, will focus on a new process by which countries' pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions can be toughened, in line with scientific advice.
ELLANIE SMIT
The United Nations weather and climate agency says this year is already on track to be one of the three hottest years of all time, after 2015 and 2016, which were both affected by a powerful El Nino effect, which can contribute to higher temperatures.
Temperatures in the first nine months of this year were unlikely to have been higher than 2016, when there was a strong El Nino weather system, but higher than anything before 2015.
The World Metrological Organisation (WMO) says key indicators of climate change, such as rising carbon dioxide concentrations, rising sea levels and the acidification of oceans, continued unabated this year.
Data thus far this year points to 2017 continuing a long-term trend of record-breaking temperatures around the world, according to the organisation.
It says provisional data suggests this year is set to be one of the hottest three years on record confirming yet again a warming trend that scientists say bears the footprint of human actions.
The secretary-general of the WMO, Petteri Taalas, said further detailed scientific studies would be carried out, but that it was already possible to say many “bear the tell-tale signs of climate change” caused by increased greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities, such as burning fossil fuel and deforestation.
According to him, this recent increase in average global temperatures confirms a renewed warming trend in recent years, which had slowed its pace slightly in the previous decade, leading some climate sceptics to claim global warming had “paused”.
“These findings underline the rising risks to people, economies and the very fabric of life on earth if we fail to get on track with the aims and ambitions of the Paris agreement.”
According to the WMO the global mean temperature from January to September this year was about a half-degree Celsius warmer than the 1981-2010 average, which was estimated to be 14.31 degrees Celsius.
The five-year average temperature from 2013 to 2017 is more than one degree Celsius higher than that during the pre-industrial period.
WMO says 2017 has been marked by higher-than-average rainfall in some places, lower-than-average coverage areas for Arctic sea ice, droughts and flooding, to name but a few.
Namibia experienced a prolonged drought since 2013 and although the 2016/17 rainfall season improved the situation somewhat, there are still areas in the country that suffer from drought conditions.
The latest rainfall predictions for the country indicate normal to above normal rainfall in November and December, and January and February 2018.
The forecast for the 2017 cropping season in southern Africa indicates that most parts of the region can expect adequate rainfall after successive years of debilitating droughts.
In November to December most of the region is expected to receive normal to above normal rainfall and this is expected to continue in most parts in January to March 2018, according to the 20th Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum. November to January may see a reduction in rainfall in some parts of the region, including Namibia, western Botswana, eastern DRC, northern Mozambique, western Zambia and southern Tanzania. During this period the region often experiences a dry spell.
For the period December 2017 to January and February 2018, increased chances of normal to above-normal rainfall are predicted for most of Namibia, while increased chances of normal to above-normal rainfall are expected in the south-western fringe of Namibia.
The results by the WMO were revealed to delegates at the UN's global climate talks being held in Bonn, Germany, during the next two weeks. The COP23 talks, a follow-up to the landmark Paris agreement of 2015, will focus on a new process by which countries' pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions can be toughened, in line with scientific advice.
ELLANIE SMIT
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