BAMOS Autumn 2021 Vol 34 No.1

JOINT INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE COMMUNIQUÉ BY NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATES BAMOS April 2021

As members of the global community of national meteorological societies , we are taking the occasion of World Meteorology Day 2021 to reiterate the critical importance of addressing climate change .

The world continues to warm

The effects of human-produced greenhouse gases on the climate are increasingly and overwhelmingly evident . The three warmest years on record , including 2020 ( at about 1.2 ° C higher than before the industrial revolution ), have all occurred since the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit climate change . The global average temperature was near a record high in 2020 despite the presence of a temporary cooling of the Pacific due to La Niña , thus indicating a continued underlying warming trend .

In 2020 , sea ice in the Arctic reached its lowest October extent on record . Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice have decreased dramatically over the past 30 years .

Massive coastal glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica are losing more mass every year and permafrost is melting . Global sea levels are rising and ocean acidification is increasing at accelerating rates . Ocean temperatures , both near the surface and at depth , continue to increase globally with implications for the behaviour of storms , changes to ocean currents , and coral reef degradation . Also , freshwater resources and eco-systems are under pressure .

Evidence is growing that a wide variety of extreme events are now more likely to occur due to global climate change . Furthermore , increased extreme temperatures , rainfall , drought , and storms have been linked to a marked increase in the number of climate-related disasters between 2000 and 2019 compared to the preceding two decades .

Limiting climate risks

In 2015 in Paris countries agreed to holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 º C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 º C above pre-industrial levels . We note that to limit the increase to 1.5 º C the world needs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions globally at an unprecedented rate , likely reaching net zero by around 2050 , as well as reducing other greenhouse gas emissions .

Many governments have announced their intention to markedly reduce emissions , including aiming to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century . However , overall , current commitments for emissions in 2030 still fall well short of the effort required to meet the Paris goals . Even if all reported commitments were implemented , temperatures could still rise to over 3 º C above pre-industrial levels by 2100 and there is a risk that the average temperature rise could exceed 1.5 º C within the next decade .

Icelandic Meteorological Society

Our message

We stress that to meet the Paris goals , the world needs to raise its ambition significantly to be in line with the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . All governments will therefore need to strengthen their efforts by taking rapid and ambitious action , including supporting those who have less capacity . Increasing nations ’ mitigation ambitions ahead of the Paris Agreement “ stocktake ” scheduled for 2023 would help set the world on a track closer to meeting the Paris goals and reducing the risk of potentially devastating climate impacts .

As well as reducing the growing risks of climate change to a more manageable level , working to meet the Paris goals can advance additional societal needs , including the achievement of many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals .

We note that the impact of COVID-19 restrictions has led to a slight drop in carbon dioxide emissions . This , however , is likely to be temporary unless the actions taken to recover from the pandemic also support the Paris goals . A sustainable global recovery from COVID-19 could lead to employment opportunities in clean technologies and deal with energy poverty .

Weather and climate services and observations are essential to support the assessment of climate risk and inform mitigation and adaptation strategies . We urge governments to support service providers with appropriate resources to sustain these crucial services and observations .

BAMOS Autumn 2021 Vol 34 No.1 | Page 13