Acid concentration in the ocean has reached a record high in 26,000 years

In its annual global climate report, the WMO said melting ice caused record-breaking sea levels last year. 'The climate is changing before our eyes,' WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.

The WMO report says the oceans have become hotter and more acidic.

In addition, the WMO report states that the level of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere in 2021 has surpassed previous records.

The report comes after the United Nations' latest climate assessment, which warned that humanity must drastically cut its greenhouse gas emissions or face increasingly severe changes. importance to the global climate.

The ocean has warmed markedly faster over the past 20 years, reaching a record in 2021 and is expected to get even warmer, the report said. It could take centuries or millennia to reverse that change, the report added.

The ocean also has the highest acidity in at least 26,000 years because it absorbs and reacts with more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

In addition, sea level has increased by 4.5 cm over the past decade. Globally, last year's average temperature was 1.11 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. According to Mr. Taalas, it is only a matter of time before recording another record hot year.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Taalas said that climate challenges are rarely mentioned in the press, when other crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic or Russia's "military campaign" in Ukraine attract many people. attention.

Selwin Hart, an adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, also criticized countries for not living up to their climate commitments due to the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, that has pushed up energy prices and prompted European countries to find ways to replace Russian energy.