UN: "2020 Was the Hottest Year in History... 1.2 Degrees Higher Than Pre-Industrial Levels"

[Image source= AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The United Nations announced on the 19th (local time) that the year 2020, along with 2016 and 2019, was recorded as one of the hottest years in human history.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency, stated in a report released that day that the Earth's temperature last year was 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels. As global warming worsened, extreme weather events also occurred consecutively.

According to the report, marine heatwave phenomena occurred at least once in 80% of the world's oceans last year. A marine heatwave is a phenomenon where sea water temperatures remain abnormally high for an extended period, causing destruction to marine ecosystems.

The United States suffered consecutive damages from a massive hurricane and heatwave in August last year. In August, Hurricane Laura struck Louisiana, causing economic damages estimated at $19 billion. In the same month, temperatures in Death Valley, a desert region in Southern California, soared to 54.4 degrees Celsius. This 54.4 degrees was the highest temperature recorded on Earth in at least 80 years.

Ant?nio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, said, "We are on the brink of chaos," adding, "The occurrences of typhoons, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, and the rate of glacier melting are at record levels."

This report was released ahead of the Climate Summit scheduled for the 22nd to 23rd. U.S. President Joe Biden organized this Climate Summit shortly after taking office, declaring the United States' return to the Paris Agreement, which former President Donald Trump had withdrawn from.

The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, aims to keep the Earth's temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. However, voices calling for limiting the temperature increase to within 1.5 degrees Celsius have recently grown louder.

President Biden is expected to present carbon emission reduction targets at the Climate Summit. The U.S. scientific community and environmental organizations argue that the United States must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50% compared to 2005 levels by 2030.

President Biden faces the challenge of balancing between progressive forces emphasizing active climate change response and Republicans who claim that climate action will lead to job losses, as well as the task of encouraging cooperation among countries worldwide.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.