UNOG-NEWS Update on Weather - February WMO 09MAR2021
/
1:57
/
MP4
/
144.8 MB

Edited News | WMO

UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Update on Weather - February WMO 09 February 2021

UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Update on Weather - February WMO 09 February 2021

“Relatively cold February does not negate the long-term warming trend from climate change, says World Meteorological Organization (WMO

Data for February shows a very mixed patterns for the end of the northern hemisphere winter and southern hemisphere summer.

“The month of February was much colder than the 1991 to 2020 average over much of Russia and Northern America, much warmer than average over the parts of the Arctic and in other parts of the world,” said Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

The contiguous USA had its coldest February since 1989, according to a report issued by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“It saw 62 all-time daily cold minimum temperature records in a space of February 11-16,” Nullis told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday.

Following this, 69 all-time daily cold maximum temperature records were broken on February 15-16.

February’s weather was influenced by a large scale and interconnected atmospheric circulation patterns and a recent meteorological event called a Sudden Stratospheric Warming Event about 30 km over the North Pole.

This led to a weakening of the polar vortex; an area of low pressure and cold air surrounding the Earth’s North and South poles, with swirling westerly jet stream winds circulating around them.

Those winds are normally strong enough to keep the coldest air in the Arctic during the winter. But the weakening allowed the cold air to spill out into the mid-latitudes, including the USA, and for the warmer air to enter the Arctic.

However, according to Nullis, “Cold records, cold waves are becoming rarer, we can see this from statistics, heat waves, heat records are becoming much more frequent,” a trend which the WMO expect to continue.

“The fact that we’ve got COVID which temporarily put a break on emissions last year does not mean that the need for climate action is diminishing.”

Mauna Loa station in Hawaii, which is used as a benchmark reference station, reported that average carbon dioxide concentrations in February were up from 413.4 parts per million in February 2020, to 416.75 parts per million this year.

“The temperature increased, climate change, greenhouse gas concentrations continued to rise,” warned Nullis.

With the start of the 2020s, Copernicus C3S, and other national meteorological and hydrological services in Europe switched to a new 1991-2020 baseline to calculate climatological averages.

Before this, the most current and widely used standard reference period for calculating climate normals was the 30-year period 1981-2010.

The WMO have recommended that the new 30-year baseline, 1991-2020, should be adopted globally, to update the climate normals and support decision-makers in climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture, health, energy, infrastructure and transportation.

But for the purposes of historical comparison and climate change monitoring, WMO still recommends the continuation of the 1961-1990 period.

For the purpose of Paris Agreement on climate change and its temperature targets, its annual state of the climate reports, WMO also uses the pre-industrial era as the baseline for tracking global temperature increase, because this is what is used in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Thus, the average global temperature in 2020 is set to be about 1.2 °C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) level.

UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Update on Weather - February WMO 09 February 2021

  1. Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
  2. Wide shot, press briefing room, UN Palais
  3. SOUNDBITE (English) — Clare Nullis, Spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO): “February was much colder, so the month of February was much colder than the 1991 to 2020 average over much of Russia and Northern America, much warmer than average over the parts of the Arctic and in other parts of the world”.
  4. Medium shot, screen in press briefing room with spokespeople
  5. SOUNDBITE (English) — Clare Nullis, Spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO): “The contiguous US had its coldest February since 1989, this is according to a report issued by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last night. It saw 62 all time daily cold minimum temperature records in a space of just 11 February to the 16”.
  6. Medium shot, journalist in press briefing room
  7. SOUNDBITE (English) — Clare Nullis, Spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO): “The fact that we had a relatively cold month does not negate climate change, it does not reverse a long-term trend in rising temperatures due to global warming, climate change”.
  8. Medium shot, journalist in press briefing room
  9. SOUNDBITE (English) — Clare Nullis, Spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO): “Cold records, cold waves are becoming rarer, we can see this from statistics. Heat waves, heat records are becoming much more frequent”.
  10. Medium shot, journalists in press briefing room
  11. SOUNDBITE (English) — Clare Nullis, Spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO): “The fact that we have got COVID which temporarily put a brake on emissions last year does not mean that the need for climate action is diminishing”.
  12. Medium shot, spokesperson arriving in press briefing room
  13. SOUNDBITE (English) — Clare Nullis, Spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO): “The temperature increase, climate change, greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise”.
  14. Wide shot, press briefing room, podium with spokesperson
  15. Medium shot, journalists in press briefing room
  16. Medium shot, screen in press briefing room with spokespeople

Similar Stories

Gaza update – UNDP, UNICEF, OCHA, ICRC 14 October 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC

Gaza update – UNDP, UNICEF, OCHA, ICRC 14 October 2025 ENG FRA

Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach  desperate Palestinians.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Machado: reaction from UN rights office

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Machado: reaction from UN rights office ENG FRA

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision to name Maria Machado as this year’s laureate, in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes.

Gaza ceasefire agreement – UNRWA, UNICEF, WHO 10 October 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , WHO

Gaza ceasefire agreement – UNRWA, UNICEF, WHO 10 October 2025 ENG FRA

As Gazans jammed the main route leading north on Friday after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced, UN aid teams repeated their call to open all crossings into the devastated enclave to prevent famine spreading.

Gaza - Israel war 7 October 2025 - OCHA - UNICEF - WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO

Gaza - Israel war 7 October 2025 - OCHA - UNICEF - WHO ENG FRA

Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians

Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.

Justice for Syria's disappeared - Riyad Avlar – 06 October 2025

1

1

1

Edited News

Justice for Syria's disappeared - Riyad Avlar – 06 October 2025 ENG FRA

Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at Human Rights Council on Ukraine: “This war needs to end”

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at Human Rights Council on Ukraine: “This war needs to end” ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.

30 minutes in a Gaza hospital - UNICEF - WHO - ICRC

1

1

1

Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC

30 minutes in a Gaza hospital - UNICEF - WHO - ICRC ENG FRA

Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital 

UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s Oral update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Haiti

2

1

2

Edited News | OHCHR

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s Oral update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Haiti ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.

The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.

Gaza aid update - UNICEF, OCHA 30 September 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF

Gaza aid update - UNICEF, OCHA 30 September 2025 ENG FRA

Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire

UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.

Gaza healthcare attacks – WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO

Gaza healthcare attacks – WHO ENG FRA

The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.

UN Report: Civilian detainees subjected to troubling patterns of torture and ill treatment since Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Report: Civilian detainees subjected to troubling patterns of torture and ill treatment since Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine ENG FRA

A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022. 

Sudan cholera update WHO - UNICEF

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO , UNICEF

Sudan cholera update WHO - UNICEF ENG FRA

Sudan war: Life-saving cholera vaccination campaign begins in Darfur

Amid the devastating war in Sudan, UN aid teams are overcoming major obstacles to curb a cholera outbreak claiming lives across the country, with young children particularly at risk.