CLIMATE PICTURE GROWS BLEAKER AS GLACIER MELTING ACCELERATES
▶ Ice loss prompts record sea level rise and warnings of more frequent extreme weather events
Record melting of the world’s glaciers has led to sea level rises globally, putting the Middle East under threat from storm surges, climate experts have told The National.
Last year, glaciers suffered “alarming” ice losses as a result of climate change, with the Alps losing 10 per cent of their volume over the past two years, Europe’s latest climate report reveals.
The European State of the Climate report, published yesterday by the Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organisation, says Europe had its second hottest year on record.
Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, told The National glaciers lost up to 20 per cent more water than any previous year, and warned that this will have consequences globally.
The loss of ice led to record sea level rises, she said, resulting in much larger storms, which pose a threat to areas at or below sea level.
Glaciers around the world lost a record 600 gigatonnes of ice – 100 gigatonnes more than any other year on record, and almost five times the amount of ice forming all glaciers in central Europe.
Estimates indicate that this ice loss has contributed 1.7mm to sea level rise – the largest annual contribution on record.
“Glaciers across all Europe saw a net loss of ice in 2023, and the Alps in particular saw exceptional ice loss linked to below average winter snow and strong summer melt due to heatwaves and high temperatures,” Ms Burgess said.
“Around the world, we saw a record of annual mass loss of 1.1 metres of ice thickness, with regional ice losses between half a metre to three metres depending on where they are and the heatwaves.
“Glaciers losing ice directly impacts sea level rise, and in 2023 we saw the largest contribution of sea level rise from glaciers losing their mass than we have ever seen since we have had satellites. It’s not good.
“When we look globally most of our cities are by the sea.
“Sea level rises lead to storm surges and spring tides being metres higher than they have ever been historically.
“If you are in a Pacific Island nation or the Middle East, it is really hard to appreciate that something that happens in mountains with glaciers around the world impacts you directly, but it does. The world should be worried.”
Last year, Europe experienced its highest number of wet days on average, with record-breaking rainfall and flooding killing eight people in Turkey.
Extreme weather events, like last week’s severe floods in the UAE, will undoubtedly happen again until the world reaches net zero, Ms Burgess said.
“We will still see extreme events this year, we have just seen Dubai having record precipitation, and we know that it is because the atmosphere is warmer,” she said. “It holds more moisture, which leads to more intense rainfall events.
“Undoubtedly it could happen again. We cannot predict when and where, it was a really unusual meteorological event.”
Landscapes and infrastructure will need to be adapted to mitigate the impact of floods, Ms Burgess said.
Weather and climate-related economic losses were estimated at more than €13.4 billion ($14.2 billion) last year.
According to preliminary estimates by the International Disaster Database, last year in Europe, 63 lives were lost to storms, 44 to floods and 44 to wildfires.
River flows across Europe were also the highest on record for December, with “exceptionally high” flow in almost a quarter of the network.
Temperatures were above average across the continent for 11 months of the year, including the warmest September on record.
“The key message for me is that Europe is the fastest warming continent, with temperatures rising at twice the global average rate,” Ms Burgess said.
“The three warmest years on record have all occurred since 2020. Europe in 2023 saw a huge number of records, a record portion of people affected by heat stress, sea level rises, melting of glaciers and all of these impacts do not just stay in Europe but they have a global footprint.
“We also saw a huge number of extreme events, which we know are likely to become more frequent and more intense due to climate change, so until we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to net zero we will continue to see climate reports like the one we have just published.”
Celeste Saulo, secretary general of the World Meteorological Organisation, echoed her warning. “The climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our generation,” she said.
“The cost of climate action may seem high, but the cost of inaction is much higher. As this report shows, we need to leverage science to provide solutions for the good of society.”
Events like last week’s severe floods in the UAE will happen again until the world reaches net-zero emissions