Report: 2018 the fourth warmest year recorded

The long-term global warming continues. During the first ten months was the average global temperature about a degree higher than during pre-industrial times, the end of the 1800s. The year 2018 will be the fourth warmest that has been measured. Twenty of the warmest years on record have occurred during the last 22 years and the last four is the top of the list.

The notes WMO in an interim report on the state of the climate in 2018. They have compiled data from a variety of international agencies and organizations in order to get a picture of the situation.

"We are not on the right path to cope with climate change and slow down global warming," says Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of WMO in a press release.

– the Levels of greenhouse gases have reached record levels, and if the current trend continues, we can come to see global warming of 3 to 5 degrees in the end of the century. If we use all known resources of fossil fuels will rise in temperature to be substantially higher.

Read more: Record levels of greenhouse gases

so Far, 2018 shown a variety of clear signs of ongoing climate change, according to the report.

. During the year's first three quarters was the heat in the oceans to the highest or second highest that has been measured. The average of the global sea level is low during the first half of the year, 2-3 mm higher than in the same period of 2017.

. The expansion of sea ice in the Arctic has been far below the average in 2018, with record low levels during January and February. The year's maximum distribution occurred in mid-march and then the ice is the third smallest that have been measured for the winter. Summer half-year the minimum distribution occurred in september and was the sixth smallest that have been measured for the season. This means that the twelve smallest dispensations of sea ice in the Arctic in both winter and summer have occurred in the past twelve years.

In Antarctica has sea ice extent remained below average throughout the year. The smallest spread occurred in February and was one of the two lowest that have been measured.

. The number of hurricanes over the oceans in the northern hemisphere was above average. On 20 november, had 70 reported, the average is 53, and they caused many deaths.

Two of the strongest hurricanes was Mangkhut that struck the Philippines, Hong kong and China.

Jebi was the strongest that has hit Japan since 1993. The hurricanes Florence and Michael caused great economic damage and killed many people in the united states.

. The indian state of Kerala was hit in August by the worst floods since the 1920s, 1.4 million people had to leave their home. Western Japan was hit by major flooding at the end of June and beginning of July. At least 230 people were killed and thousands of homes destroyed. Although Kenya and Somalia, which previously had suffered from drought were affected by floods in march and april.

. Large parts of Europe experienced heat waves and drought during the summer which, among other things, led to extensive forest fires in Scandinavia. A number of temperaturrekord was set north of the arctic circle.

Eastern Australia has been hit by severe droughts, particularly New South Wales and southern Queensland, in large parts of the region where precipitation is less than half of the normal.

Both Japan and south Korea set a new heat record by 41.1 and 41 degrees.

Read more: Historical shift is required to curb the warming

One of the last few years the worst be cold snaps affected Europe in February and early march.

. Athens was hit by a major forest fire where many people perished on 23 July. British Columbia Canada set a new record for the largest surface area of which has been burning during the brandsäsongen for the second year in a row. California struggled with the large forest fires in november, where it was renamed to the Camp Fire was the deadliest in over a hundred years in the united states.

. Last year, the low levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record level, and data from, among other things, the script Loa in Hawaii, and Cape Grim in Tasmania, suggest that they have continued to increase in 2018.

According to the report, there were in september two million people who had been forced to leave their homes because of disasters related to weather and climate.

just a few days before the UN's major climate conference in the Polish Katowice, COP24, where countries will try to agree on how the objectives of the paris agreement is to be achieved. It is also one of the series of international reports in recent times which all have the same message, climate change is already apparent – there is a rush to set about.

– Every little part of a degree of warming means a difference for people's health and access to food and water, for the extinction of animals and plants, the coral reefs ' survival and marine life. It means a difference to the economic productivity, mattillgång and cities and the infrastructure able to cope with climate change, " says Elena Manaenkova, assistant secretary-general of WMO.

the Report also takes up global warming affects food production, and threatens to reverse the positive trend in reducing malnutrition in the world. New figures suggest that it may be on the way to increase after that for many years have decreased.

– It is worth to once again repeat that we are the first generation that fully understands climate change, and the last generation that has the opportunity to do something about it, " says Petteri Taalas.