WMO - Past 4 Years Warmest 4 Years On Record; 62 Million People Faced Extreme Weather In 2018

The past four years have been the warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization's annual State of the Climate report. Climate change impacts are worsening, according to findings from the United Nations' weather agency. The report, released Thursday, found that 62 million people were affected by extreme weather last year.

"The data released in this report give cause for great concern," U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. "There is no longer any time for delay." Flooding affected 35 million people – the highest number of people for any weather event in 2018. Hurricanes Florence and Michael were two of 14 so-called "billion dollar disasters" detailed in the report. They cost the U.S. nearly $50 billion in damages and killed more than 100 people.

The report found that heat waves and wildfires claimed more than 1,600 lives in 2018. The U.S. faced a record-high price tag of nearly $24 billion for the disasters.

More than 2 million people were displaced due to events such as drought, floods and storms, according to the report. The levels of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic were again well below average.

EDIT

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-03-28/un-report-finds-the-past-four-years-were-warmest-on-record?int=98f508