The United Nations weather agency has said that last year’s extreme weather that wreaked havoc in Asia, Europe and the Pacific region was a human-induced climate change.
In its annual assessment, the World Meteorological Organization on Monday said that 2013 was the sixth-warmest year on record.
The more shocking to hear is that 13 out of the 14 warmest years have occurred in the 21st century.
Michel Jarraud, the agency’s Secretary-General, said, a rise in sea levels is leading to increasing damage from storm surges and coastal flooding.
Last November, Typhoon Haiyan killed at least 6,100 people and caused $13 billion in damage to the Philippines and Vietnam.
According to Jarraud, some of the most costly weather disasters are $22 billion damage from central European flooding in June, $10 billion in damage from Typhoon Fitow in China and Japan, and a $10 billion drought in much of China.
Australia is among to most hit on record. While speaking in Geneva, Jarraud has drew special attention to researches and climate modeling examining Australia’s recent heat waves. He said that the high temperatures there would have been virtually impossible without the emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Scientists have also cautioned against rising ocean temperatures as they say this will upset natural cycles of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and phosphorous.
The planktons play a significant role in the carbon cycle of water body by removing half of all carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and storing it deep under the sea. Phytoplankton is microscopic plant-like organisms that rely on photosynthesis to reproduce and grow.