Tag Archives: heatwaves

Record heat “frightening development” – United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

By Andy McElroy

8d6b8922d2fa266da9d63d8cd9d36d3a-450x0BANGKOK, 23 August 2016 – Scientists and researchers were today urged to provide “solutions and guidance” so that policymakers are able to effectively address the challenge of escalating disaster risk.

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr Robert Glasser, said successive record-breaking hot months because of climate change were a “frightening development” that makes the need for risk-informed policymaking even more pressing.

“This is a critical time in the history of the planet when many look to the science and technology community for solutions and guidance. Politicians and policymakers are challenged on a daily basis by extreme weather events, poverty, environmental decline, population growth, rapid urbanisation and – most fundamentally – climate change. In short, the major drivers of disaster risk,” Mr Glasser said.

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First half of 2015 ‘hottest six months on record’

From January to June 2015, the globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces was the hottest for such period on record, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported today, citing new highs across the planet in June, with heatwaves across South Asia, Europe and pockets of the United States. Continue reading →