Asia warming nearly twice as fast as global average: Report

The warming trend between 1991 and 2024 was almost double that of the period between 1961 and 1990, a latest report said, making 2024 the warmest or second-warmest year for Asian countries, with widespread and prolonged heat waves.

The report, titled State of the Global Climate 2024, released by World Meteorological Organization, provides policy-relevant information for national and regional decision-making.

The WMO previously reported in 2024 that the impact of heat waves in Asia was becoming more severe, with melting glaciers threatening the region's future water security.

Asia is the continent with the largest land mass extending to the Arctic Ocean, and is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average because the temperature increase over land is larger than the temperature increase over the ocean.

In 2024, heat waves gripped a record area of the ocean. Sea surface temperatures were the highest on record, with Asia's sea surface warming rate 0.24 degree per decade — nearly double the global average, the report said.

Sea level rise on the Pacific and Indian oceans sides of the continent exceeded the global average, raising risks for low-lying coastal areas.

In 2024, most of the ocean area of Asia was affected by marine heat waves 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 land area of Russia and about 1.5 times of China.

Large parts of the Arctic Ocean experienced significant sea ice melt, with the ice edge shifting far northward by the end of the season.

Loss of glaciers

In the area of High-mountain Asia, 23 out of 24 glaciers suffered continued mass loss between 2023 and 2024, intensified by reduced winter snowfall and extreme summer heat in the central Himalayas and most of the Tianshan Mountains.

The High-mountain Asia region, centered on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China, contains the largest volume of ice outside the polar regions, with glaciers covering an area of approximately 100,000 sq km. It is known as the world's Third Pole.

Over the last several decades, most glaciers in this region have been retreating. "The melting of glaciers affects sea level, regional water cycles and the occurrence of local hazards such as glacial lake outburst floods", the report said.

Substantial precipitation deficits in the region were observed around the Laptev Sea and the lower and middle course of the Lena River toward the Yablonoi Mountains, and around the Eastern Sayan and Khangai mountains. Parts of the Hindu Kush and western Himalayas were drier than usual.

Meanwhile, severe snowmelt and record-breaking rainfall in Central Asia, especially the region of 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 millimeters of rain fell in 24 hours — one of the most extreme precipitation events since records began in 1949.

Extreme rainfall wreaked havoc and heavy casualties in many countries in the region, and tropical cyclones left a trail of destruction, while drought caused heavy economic and agricultural losses.

"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," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo according to a news release by the organization.

The report included a case study from Nepal, showing how strengthened early warning systems and anticipatory action enable communities to prepare for and respond to climate variability and change, thereby helping to protect lives and livelihoods.

"The work of national meteorological and hydrological services and their partners is more important than ever to save lives and livelihoods," Saulo said.

DAWN, PAKISTAN