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2021 was among the hottest years in history, says UN agency

An analysis of consolidated data from six international databases on global temperatures showed that 2021 was one of the hottest years in history.

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), last year is among the seven warmest on record.

The group of seven warmest years includes every year since 2015. Among them, the year 2016 leads the global temperature ranking, followed by 2019 and 2020.

The UN agency (United Nations) specialized in meteorology points out that average global temperatures were temporarily cooled, between 2020 and 2022, by the La Niña phenomenon.

La Niña is the name given to the effects of the abnormal cooling of the waters of the Pacific Ocean, which alters the dynamics of circulation in the atmosphere and collaborates, for example, with the cooling of the global average temperature.

In Brazil, one of the effects derived from La Niña is the rains that were seen at the beginning of the year, which left at least 59 dead in 10 Brazilian states.

“Consecutive La Niña events mean that 2021 warming was relatively less pronounced compared to recent years. Even so, 2021 was still warmer than other La Niña-influenced years,” says WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

“Long-term widespread warming as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is now much more relevant than annual variations in global average temperatures caused by natural climate factors.”

Data collected by the agency over the years show that since the 1980s, the planet has gotten warmer every decade, and the trend is expected to continue.

The year 2021 will be remembered for record-breaking temperatures of almost 50°C in Canada, comparable to the values ​​recorded in the Algerian desert, exceptional rains and deadly floods in Asia and Europe, as well as drought in parts of Africa and North America. South. The impacts of climate change and temperature-related hazards have had devastating effects on communities on every continent.

Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of the WMO

The year 2021 was also marked by the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP 26, which took place in Glasgow. At the event, measures were discussed to delay and mitigate the effects of humanity’s actions on the climate and environment, which could jeopardize the perpetuity of life on Earth.

One of the most discussed points at the event was the dependence on fossil fuels, such as oil, which are known to be responsible for massive emissions of greenhouse gases. The decisions, however, were not as incisive as required for the climate alert level, in the opinion of experts.

The Paris Agreement is one of the main treaties governing international action to combat climate change. In it, it was determined that the average global temperature should remain at 2°C below pre-industrial levels, always seeking to keep it below 1.5°C. The year 2021 recorded an average temperature of 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels, a number closer than the desirable end goal.

The WMO highlights that temperature is just one of the indicators to which attention should be paid when talking about the climate crisis. The concentration of greenhouse gases, the temperature and pH of ocean waters, global ocean levels and glacial mass are some other examples.

Reference: CNN Brasil

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