STORYLINE
38C/100F, a record Arctic temperature confirmed, others likely to follow: WMO
A new and disturbing high temperature record for the Arctic of 38C/100F was confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday.
Worryingly, the temperature reading in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk taken last June is "just one of a series” of potentially record-breaking observations from around the planet in 2020 that the agency is seeking to verify, spokesperson Clare Nullis told journalists in Geneva.
“The World Meteorological Organization has this morning recognized a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius which is a staggering 100.4 Fahrenheit in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk. It was recorded last year, so 20 June 2020 and we have recognized it as a new Arctic record.”
Describing the record as a temperature “more befitting the Mediterranean than the Arctic”, WMO explained in a statement that average temperatures over Arctic Siberia reached 10C above normal for much of last summer.
It noted that the Siberian town is 115 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.
“If you cast your mind back to last year, you will recall there was an exceptional, prolonged Siberian heatwave, as a result of this heatwave we saw devastating and very widespread Siberian fires and we saw massive Arctic sea ice loss at the end of the summer season,” Ms. Nullis said.
The furnace-like conditions also contributed to 2020 becoming one of the three warmest years on record, the WMO spokesperson explained, adding that the Siberian heatwave “would have been almost impossible without climate change” – and that a new category for record temperatures in the Arctic had to be created as a result of the Verhoyansk reading and ongoing climate change.
In WMO’s Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes, the category is listed as “highest recorded temperature at or north of 66.5⁰, the Arctic Circle”.
Although WMO’s Nullis warned that the Arctic is “one of the fastest warming parts of the world; it’s warming more than twice as fast as the global average”, she added that climate change has forced up temperatures elsewhere, which the UN agency is busy verifying.
“Last year also there was a new temperature record in the Antarctic continent of 18.3 degrees Celsius that was recorded at an Argentinian base called Esperanza,” she said.
WMO investigators are seeking to verify temperature readings of 54.4C recorded in both 2020 and 2021 in the world’s hottest place, Death Valley in California.
In addition, they are also assessing a new reported European temperature record of 48.8C in the Italian island of Sicily this summer.
“The WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes has never had so many ongoing simultaneous investigations,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, in a statement.
ends
STORY: Arctic Heat Temperature Record - WMO
TRT: 1 min 50s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 14 December 2021 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva
2. Wide shot: press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “The World Meteorological Organization has this morning recognized a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius which is a staggering 100.4 Fahrenheit in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk. It was recorded last year, so 20 June 2020 and we have recognized it as a new Arctic record.”
4. Medium shot, side angle of podium
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “If you cast your mind back to last year, you will recall there was an exceptional, prolonged Siberian heatwave, as a result of this heatwave we saw devastating and very widespread Siberian fires and we saw massive Arctic sea ice loss at the end of the summer season.”
6. Wide shot: journalists typing, podium in the background
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “The heat that we saw in Siberia in 2020 would have been almost impossible without climate change.”
8. Close-up: journalist
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “The Arctic as the WMO keeps saying is one of the fastest warming parts of the world; it’s warming more than twice as fast as the global average.”
10. Medium shot: journalists
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – Clare Nullis, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “Last year also there was a new temperature record in the Antarctic continent of 18.3 degrees Celsius that was recorded at an Argentinian base called Esperanza.”
12. Medium shot: journalist
13. Medium shot: journalist
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OCHA , WMO
‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Melissa hours from landfall in Jamaica as humanitarians rush to save lives
Millions in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are bracing for massive impact from Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday as the UN and partners are warning of a “severe” and “immediate” humanitarian threat.
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘We need all routes to open’: in Gaza WHO calls for ramp-up of medevacs, easier access for essentials
Two weeks since a ceasefire agreement entered into force in Gaza the World Health Organization (WHO) noted progress on the flow of aid while calling for more evacuations of critical patients and eased entry for essential medicines and supplies.
1
12
1
1
Edited News | WMO , UNITED NATIONS
UN chief urges boost to life-saving weather warning systems, stresses role of climate change science
No country is safe from the devastating impacts of extreme weather — and saving lives means making early-warning systems accessible to all, UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gazans’ response to food distributions ‘overwhelming’ as humanitarians scale up under fragile ceasefire
In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food, but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP , OCHA
UN urges opening of all Gaza crossings to deliver three-month food supply
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned food aid cannot reach everyone in Gaza unless all border crossings are opened, particularly in the north where famine was declared in August. The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC
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.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
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.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , WHO
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.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
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.
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.