By: Staff Writer
May 10, 2024
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in their State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2023 that 2023 was the warmest year on record for the LAC, making more dire the 36, 695 deaths on average per year between 2000-2019 due to excess heat.
The report also said: “The global annual mean near-surface temperature in 2023 was 1.45 ± 0.12 °C above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial average. The year 2023 was the warmest year on record according to six global temperature datasets. The past nine years, 2015 to 2023, were the nine warmest years on record in all datasets.
“Over the past two decades, the ocean warming rate has increased, and the ocean heat content in 2023 was the highest on record. Ocean warming and accelerated loss of ice mass from the ice sheets contributed to the rise of the global mean sea level by 4.77 mm per year between 2014 and 2023, reaching a new record high in 2023. Between 1960 and 2021 (latest available data), the ocean absorbed about 25% of annual anthropogenic emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere. CO2 reacts with seawater and lowers its pH. The limited number of long-term observations in the open ocean have shown a decline in pH, with a reduction of the average global surface ocean pH of 0.017–0.027 pH units per decade since the late 1980s. This process, known as ocean acidification, affects many organisms and ecosystem services, and threatens food security by endangering fisheries and aquaculture.”
The report also said: “A multi-year La Niña event began in mid-2020 and ended in early 2023. Subsequently, sea-surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific increased, crossing typical El Niño thresholds by June. However, the atmosphere was slower to respond, and it was not until early September that El Niño conditions were well established in both the atmosphere and ocean. By the end of the year, a strong El Niño had developed, with the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI)4 reaching 2 °C for the November 2023–January 2024 period, the highest value since the 2015/16 El Niño, and indicative of a strong El Niño.
“The 2023 El Niño event was associated with higher air temperatures and precipitation deficits (see Precipitation) over Mexico, the Peruvian-Bolivian Altiplano and the Amazon, as well as increased rainfall in parts of south-eastern South America. It also prolonged a pre-existing drought over much of the south-western Amazon that, together with higher temperatures, led to extreme low river levels in most of the region during the southern hemisphere spring.
“As of 31 December, 76 percent of Mexico was in drought, according to the most recent data from the country’s water service (CONAGUA), including extreme drought across much of central and north Mexico.”
The report added: “The integration of climate and health sciences and services is vital in order to address growing health risks from climate extremes, climate variability and change, ecosystem change and the deepening social inequalities that increase vulnerability. Effective climate-informed early warning systems (EWSs) go beyond infrastructure; they demand a multifaceted health sector response.
“To optimize climate services for public health, enhancements in data infrastructure and cooperation between health, climate services and other key sectors are essential, as is training across the climate and health sectors. An EWS should activate a range of health sector responses, including healthcare worker training, capacity enhancement of health systems to mobilize first responders, and strengthening of epidemiological and entomological teams if needed. It should also increase lab analysis capacity, enhance risk communication and ensure adequate infrastructure to support these actions. This holistic approach not only bolsters public health resilience but also lays the groundwork for health and climate change observatories.”