State of Climate Services Report 2023 – WMO

November 7, 2023

GS Paper III Environment and Ecology

Context:

Recently, ‘State of Climate Services for health report 2023’ was released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

State of Climate Services Report 2023

The State of Climate Services Report 2023 highlights the need for tailored climate information and services to support the health sector in the face of more extreme weather and poor air quality, shifting infectious disease patterns and food and water insecurity.

World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)

It was established in 1950 as a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
India is a member of WMO.
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

State of Climate Services Report 2023 – Key Findings

Projected Increase in Disaster Events by 2030: The number of medium- or large-scale disaster events is projected to reach 560 a year – or 1.5 each day – by 2030.
Disaster Mortality Disparities Due to Early Warning Coverage: Countries with limited early warning coverage have disaster mortality that is eight times higher than countries with substantial to comprehensive coverage.
‘Early Warnings for All Initiative’: Heat warning services are provided to health decision makers in only half of the affected countries, but are expected to rapidly increase by 2027 under the international Early Warnings for All initiative.
Annual Heat-Related Deaths (2000-2019): Between 2000 and 2019, estimated deaths due to heat were approximately 489,000 per year, with a particularly high burden in Asia (45%) and Europe (36%).
- Impact of Extreme Heat in Europe: Extreme heat conditions during the summer of 2022, were estimated to have claimed over 60,000 excess deaths in 35 European countries.
Increasing Global Land Area Affected by Extreme Drought (2012-2021): In 2012-2021, 29% more global land area was affected by extreme drought for at least one month per year than in 1951–1960.
Compounding Impacts of Droughts and Heat Waves on Food Insecurity (2020): The compounding impacts of droughts and heat wave days were associated with 98 million additional people reporting moderate to severe food insecurity in 2020 than annually in 1981–2010, in 103 countries analyzed.
Impact of Climate Change on Infectious Diseases Transmission:The changing climatic conditions are also enhancing the transmission of many climatically sensitive infectious vectors-, food-, and water-borne diseases.
- For example, dengue is the world’s fastest-spreading vector-borne disease, whilst the length of the malaria transmission season has increased in parts of the world.

Framework for 2023–2033 Implementation Plan for Advancing Integrated Climate, Environment and Health Science and Service

Success stories

In Africa, food security and shock response systems support social protection in Mauritania and the Sahel.
In Europe, a mobile app has been developed to provide information on the risks of heatwaves and air pollution in urban environments.
In the Pacific, enhanced integrated risk monitoring and climate-informed early warning systems have helped people in Fiji better prepare and respond to climatic changes, reducing morbidity and mortality from climate-sensitive diseases.
- Australia played a leading role in the development of a Sun-Smart App to protect people against harmful UV levels.