World Meteorological Organization

Mar

2023

Mozambique braces for tropical storm Freddy

TROPICAL storm Freddy is due to hit the coast of Southern Africa again early on Saturday, after killing at least 27 people in Mozambique and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month. One of the strongest storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere, Freddy may also have broken the record for the longest-lasting tropical cyclone, according to the World Meteorological Organization, which said the current record is held by a 31-day hurricane in 1994. Freddy was first named on Feb. 6, 33 days ago. More than 171,000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique two weeks ago,…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

World is on “verge of the abyss” – UN chief

WORLD

EMMA FARGE and KATE ABNETT THE year 2020 was one of the three hottest years on record, marked by wildfires, droughts, floods and melting glaciers, a United Nations report said yesterday, prompting the U.N. Secretary-General to say the world stands "on the verge of the abyss". In a "double blow" to millions hit by the extreme climate events, lockdown restrictions linked to the global coronavirus pandemic also delayed crucial assistance in some regions, said the report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The 'State of the Global Climate' report confirms its preliminary findings, including on land and ocean temperatures, and…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Global temperatures in 2020 among highest on record – WMO

ENVIRONMENT

TIMOTHY GARDNER Global temperatures in 2020 were among the highest on record and rivaled 2016 as the hottest year ever, according to international data compiled by the World Meteorological Organization and released on Thursday. The heat came even as a global economic slowdown from the COVID-19 pandemic cut deeply into emissions from fossil fuels, adding evidence that carbon dioxide concentrations already in the atmosphere have set the planet on a warming track. The WMO report included data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the UK Met Office, both of which ranked 2020 as the second-warmest year…