This year, the ocean is the protagonist of the World Meteorological Day, which occurs every 23 March since 1950, when the World Meterorological Organization-Wmo (World Meteorological Organization) was established by the UN.
The main theme "the ocean, our climate and the weather" wants to draw attention to the intertwining of these three factors and how they affect the global economy and food security.
But it also marks the beginning of the United Nations "Decade of Oceanographic Science for Sustainable Development" (2021 to 2030) led by the Unesco Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and highlights Goal 14 of the United Nations Agenda 2020-2030 : "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources".
Noting that "observations, research and services are more critical than ever for more than 70% of the earth's surface, which is increasingly vulnerable and dangerous", the OMM recalls that climate change is hitting the ocean hard and increasing the risks for hundreds of millions of people because "the natural balance between ocean and atmosphere is increasingly distorted by the effects of human activities", due to greenhouse gas emissions which should be eliminated and which are the cause of global warming.
The reflection on man's responsibility for extreme weather events and on the consequences for the most fragile populations that inhabit some areas of the planet scourged by the force of nature is therefore back.
The ocean, explains the OMM, "absorbs more than 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases, protecting us from even greater temperature rises due to climate change" but "this comes at a heavy price as warming oceans and changes in ocean chemistry are already disrupting marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them. "
The warmth of the ocean, says the secretary general of the OM, Petteri Taalas, "is at record levels due to greenhouse gas emissions and the acidification of the oceans shows no sign of diminishing and the impact of this will be felt for hundreds. of years because the ocean has a long memory ".
From melting ice, with flood risks for polar communities and problems with fishing and navigation, to rising seas, warm ocean temperatures that helped fuel a record hurricane season in the Atlantic and intense tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, the OMM recalls that "about 40% of the world population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast", therefore "it is urgent to intervene with forms of protection" with early warning systems and forecasts based on 'impact.
(HANDLE).
