The year 2016 made history as several climate records were shattered with mercury rising worldwide, unusually low sea ice recorded and continuing increase in the sea level and ocean heat, the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) said, in its annual State of Global Climate report. The report reaffirmed the finding of various global studies that 2016 was the warmest year on record, witnessing a remarkable temperatures 1.1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial period.
Recent studies also indicated a continuation of extreme weather events in 2017, the report added. "Even without a strong El Niño in 2017, we are seeing other remarkable changes across the planet that are challenging the limits of our understanding of the climate system. We are now in truly uncharted territory," said World Climate Research Programme Director David Carlson.
According to the report, the continuing warm weather has led to Polar equivalent of a heatwave in the Arctic with powerful Atlantic storms driving an influx of warm, moist air.
"This meant that at the height of the Arctic winter and the sea ice refreezing period, there were days which were actually close to melting point."
The warming and consequent extreme weather events were boosted by the powerful El Niño of 2015-2016. It led to strong rise in global sea levels and a dip in the extent of global sea ice. "Global sea ice extent dropped more than 4 million square kms below average in November, an unprecedented anomaly for that month," the report said.
During an active El Niño, oceanic waters see warming resulting in droughts across South and South-East Asia and even parts of the Africa. Scientists across world said that the 2015-16 El Niño, was probably one of the strongest seen since 1996.
Among the extreme weather events in 2016, the reported noted that the significant flooding that occurred in India during the southwest monsoon, particularly across the Ganga basin. There was widespread flooding in Ganga that displaced a vast number of people in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The report also highlighted the heat waves recorded in South Asia in April and May. In 2016, heat waves killed more than 2,000 people, and shattered the maximum temperature record. Phalodi, in Rajasthan, had recorded 51 degree Celsius on May 19, 2016.
The WMO's annual report is based on the assessment of multiple international weather and climate datasets submitted by member institutes across countries.
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