The Climate Summit begins with a gloomy report and a small triumph for the countries most affected by this global crisis

Global warming and rising sea levels are getting worse and at an ever-increasing rate, the World Meteorological Organization (MMO) warned on Sunday in a somber note at the start of the international Climate Summit in Egypt.

This latest report "is a chronicle of climate chaos," said the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, "we must respond to the planet's distress signal with ambitious and credible actions."

In its annual climate report, the UN meteorological agency states that

that of the 1990s, and that since January 2020 it has skyrocketed at a higher rate.

Since the start of the decade, seas are rising at a rate of 2 inches (5 millimeters) a year, up from 0.8 inches (2.1 millimeters) in 1990.

Floods in Pakistan on September 6, 2022. Fareed Khan / AP

The past eight years have been the hottest on record,

according to the report.

“We have lost the [ice] melting game and also the rhythm of sea level,” MMO chief Petteri Taalas told The Associated Press news agency.

“So far there are no positive indicators,” he said.

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The only reason annual temperature records haven't been broken in recent years is a rare three-year La Niña weather phenomenon, he noted.

The data on sea level and average temperatures are nothing compared to how the climate crisis has affected the population in terms of extreme weather conditions.

The report highlights the

that killed more than 1,700 people and displaced 7.9 million this summer;

a four-year drought in East Africa that has more than 18 million people hungry;

the Yangtze River drying up to its lowest level in August;

and record heat waves scorching people across Europe and China.

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Levels of heat-trapping

in the atmosphere hit record highs, with the potent methane rising at a record pace, the report said.

This means more than just warming temperatures on land.

The ice, both in Greenland and in glaciers around the world, is shrinking precipitously, according to the report.

90% of the heat trapped on Earth ends up in the ocean, which is warming in the last 15 years at a rate 67% faster than since 1971, according to the report.

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Envoys from around the world began the summit in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday after two days of frantic preliminary talks that sealed an agreement to formally negotiate the issue of affected developing countries receiving money for damage from the climate crisis.

The issue has weighed on talks for years, with rich countries, including the United States, balking at the idea.

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"The fact that it has been adopted as an item on the agenda shows that progress has been made and that the parties have adopted a mature and constructive attitude towards it," said the UN's top climate official, Simon Stiell.

The decision was also welcomed by civil society groups.

“Finally, financing to address loss and damage from climate impacts is on the agenda of the UN climate negotiations,” said Ani Dasgupta, president of the World Resources Institute.

The outgoing chairman of the previous summit, Britain's Alok Sharma, said countries had made considerable progress at their last meeting in Glasgow to keep alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) by the end of the week. of century.

However, experts say the chances of meeting that goal, agreed to in the 2015 Paris climate accord, are fading fast.

Temperatures around the world have already risen about 1.2 degrees (2.2 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times.

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“As difficult as our current moment is, inaction is short-sighted and can only postpone climate catastrophe,” Sharma said.

His successor, the Egyptian minister Sameh Shoukry, affirmed that his country "will spare no effort" so that the meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh is a success and the objectives of the Paris agreement are achieved.