Asia warming nearly twice as fast as global average, wreaking economies: WMO
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report said Asia’s average temperature in 2024 was about 1.04°C above the 1991–2020 average
Asia is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, fuelling more extreme weather and wreaking a heavy toll on the region’s economies, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report released on Monday said.
The report said Asia’s average temperature in 2024 was about 1.04°C above the 1991–2020 average, the warmest or second warmest year on record. In 2024, heatwaves gripped a record area of the ocean. Sea surface temperatures were the highest on record. Asia’s sea surface decadal warming rate was nearly double the global average. Sea level rise on the Pacific and Indian Ocean sides of the continent exceeded the global average, heightening risks for low-lying coastal areas.
The report said reduced winter snowfall and extreme summer heat were punishing for glaciers. “In the central Himalayas and Tian Shan, 23 out of 24 glaciers suffered mass loss, leading to an increase in hazards like glacial lake outburst floods and landslides and long-term risks for water security.”
Over 28 years, the boreal spring (March to May) snow cover extent (SCE) in Asia has been decreasing by 215,000 km2 on average per decade. In the 2024 spring, the SCE in Asia was about 14.72 million km2, which is near the 1998–2020 average.
Last year, extreme rainfall led to heavy casualties in the region. Tropical cyclones left a trail of destruction and drought, causing heavy economic and agricultural losses.
WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo said the State of the Climate in Asia report highlights the changes in key climate indicators such as surface temperature, glacier mass, and sea level, which will have major repercussions for societies, economies, and ecosystems in the region. “Extreme weather is already exacting an unacceptably high toll.”
Saulo said the work of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and their partners is more important than ever to save lives and livelihoods.
Prolonged heat waves affected East Asia from April to November. Monthly average temperature records were broken one after another in Japan (April, July, and October), in the Republic of Korea (April, June, August, and September), and in China (April, May, August, September, and November).
Heat waves were reported in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia. Myanmar set a new national temperature record of 48.2 °C.
Most of the ocean area of Asia last year was affected by marine heatwaves of strong, severe, or extreme intensity – the largest extent since records began in 1993. The northern Indian Ocean and the ocean area adjacent to Japan, the Yellow and East China seas, were especially affected. During August and September 2024, nearly 15 million square kilometers of the region’s ocean was impacted – one tenth of the Earth’s entire ocean surface, about the same size as the Russian Federation and more than 1.5 times the area of China.
The report noted extreme events in 2024, including deadly landslides in Kerala on 30 July following extreme rainfall which exceeded 500 mm in the 48 hours before the event and left over 350 dead.
In September, record-breaking rainfall in Nepal triggered severe floods, killing at least 246 people. Damages exceeded 12.85 billion Nepalese rupees (about US$ 94 million at current exchange rates). Drought in China affected nearly 4.8 million people, damaged 335,200 hectares of crops, and led to an estimated 2.89 billion Chinese yuan (CNY) in direct losses (more than US $400 million at current exchange rates).
Tropical Cyclone Yagi, the strongest storm of the year, caused widespread damage and casualties across Vietnam, the Philippines, Lao PDR, Thailand, Myanmar, and China.
Severe snow melt and record-breaking rainfall in Central Asia (mainly Kazakhstan and southern Russia) led to the worst flooding in at least 70 years, forcing the evacuation of 118,000 people. West Asia was also hit by heavy rainfall. In the United Arab Emirates, 259.5 mm of rain fell in 24 hours, one of the most extreme precipitation events since records began in 1949.
