The United Nations issued a severe warning on Thursday that the El\nNi\u00f1o climate phenomenon is now strengthening into a \u2018super\u2019 or giant\nscale. This extreme phenomenon is projected to persist until February\n2027, increasing the risk of flash floods, severe droughts, and extreme\nheatwaves in many countries.<\/p>\n
Quoting CNBC International, Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the\nUN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), revealed the terrifying\nscale of the threat this phenomenon poses to global society. \u201cThis has\nthe potential to deal a heavy blow to societies and economies\nworldwide,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n
The Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions are certain to bear the\nheaviest burden of these direct impacts. However, the entire world is\nbracing for the domino effect on key commodities, ranging from maize,\ncocoa, and coffee to global energy supplies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have already seen disruptions and destruction due to droughts and\nfloods, and we expect these impacts to increase as El Ni\u00f1o strengthens,\u201d\nshe explained.<\/p>\n
These adverse impacts have been confirmed through an Oxfam report in\nAugust, which linked El Ni\u00f1o to unpredictable weather and droughts in\nGuatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, resulting in severe crop losses.\nEl Salvador even declared a national state of emergency on 25\nAugust.<\/p>\n
Simultaneously, Indonesia is currently struggling against devastating\nforest fires. In India, a weaker monsoon season is expected to disrupt\nthe growth of paddy, sugarcane, cotton, and soybeans. Meanwhile,\nofficials in Peru have acknowledged that the anchovy fishery, commonly\nused for animal feed, has taken a significant hit.<\/p>\n
The energy sector is also not immune to the threat of crisis. Extreme\nweather is expected to have unpredictable impacts on global energy\nproduction and demand, potentially triggering disruptions in hydropower,\nwind, and solar power generation, as well as oil refining, gas, and\nmining operations. Responding to this unstoppable escalation, UN\nSecretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres highlighted that El Ni\u00f1o is visibly\nexpanding before our eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world is in a danger zone of extreme weather. The race now is\nbetween increasing risks and our commitment to taking climate action and\nprotecting people. We must win that race,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n
For context, the El Ni\u00f1o event (meaning \u201cboy\u201d in Spanish) is a\nnatural climate pattern that oscillates with La Ni\u00f1a every two to seven\nyears. This event is triggered when sea temperatures in the eastern\ntropical Pacific rise 0.5 degrees Celsius above the long-term\naverage.<\/p>\n
The WMO noted that sea surface temperatures reached more than 2\ndegrees Celsius above normal in July, and surged to a range of 2.2 to\n2.6 degrees Celsius above normal from late July to mid-August. The\nwarning becomes even more pressing as WMO research shows that the\nsubsurface ocean is storing much more extraordinary warmth, with\ntemperatures more than 8 degrees Celsius above average during July and\nearly August.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/un-issues-warning-of-impending-extraordinary-global-disasters-1788490445", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }