ASIA IS WARMING AT TWICE THE GLOBAL AVERAGE

ASIA IS WARMING AT TWICE THE GLOBAL AVERAGE

Why in News

• On June 23, 2025, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its “State of the Climate in Asia 2024” report, revealing that Asia is warming at nearly twice the global average.
• The year 2024 was the warmest on record for Asia, marked by widespread and prolonged heatwaves, record-high sea surface temperatures, glacier mass loss, and a surge in extreme weather events.

KEY FINDINGS

• Warmest Year on Record:
  • 2024 was the warmest year on record in Asia, with its average temperature approximately 1.04∘C above the 1991–2020 baseline.
  • This makes it either the warmest or second-warmest year, depending on the dataset used.
• Accelerated Warming:
  • Asia is warming at nearly twice the global average.
  • The warming trend between 1991-2024 was almost double that during the 1961-1990 period.
  • This accelerated warming is partly attributed to Asia’s massive landmass, as land temperatures tend to increase more rapidly than ocean temperatures.
• Global Temperature Context:
  • The global mean temperature in 2024 was the highest on record for the period 1850-2024 (1.45∘C above pre-industrial levels), surpassing the previous record set in 2023.
  • Each of the years from 2015 to 2024 ranks among the 10 warmest years on record.

IMPACTS ON OCEANS & GLACIERS

• Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs): Asia’s sea surface temperatures were the highest on record in 2024. The decadal warming rate of Asia’s sea surface is nearly double the global average.
  • Marine Heatwaves: Most of Asia’s ocean areas were affected by marine heatwaves of strong, severe, or extreme intensity—the largest extent since records began in 1993 (approximately 15 million sq km affected).
  • The northern Indian Ocean, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea (adjacent to Japan) were particularly impacted.

• Sea Level Rise: Sea level rise on both the Pacific and Indian Ocean sides of Asia exceeded the global average.
• This heightens risks for low-lying coastal areas, increasing vulnerability to flooding and erosion, and threatening major coastal metropolises.
• Glacier Mass Loss: A significant concern is the accelerated melting of glaciers in High Mountain Asia (including the Himalayas, Pamir Mountains, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush).
  • Scale of Loss: 23 out of 24 glaciers monitored in the central Himalayas and Tian Shan suffered mass loss.
  • Notably, Urumqi Glacier No. 1 (Tian Shan) recorded its highest melt since 1959.
  • Consequences: This leads to an increase in hazards such as:
    • Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs): Sudden discharges of water from glacial lakes, often due to moraine dam collapses.
    • Landslides: Triggered by unstable slopes due to melting ice and increased water saturation.
    • Water Security Risks: Poses long-term threats to water availability for hundreds of millions of people who depend on these glacial meltwaters for drinking, agriculture, and industry, as 10 of Asia’s largest rivers originate in the Hindu Kush Himalayas.

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS IN 2024

The report documented widespread and severe extreme weather events across Asia in 2024:

• Heatwaves:
  • Prolonged and Widespread: Prolonged heatwaves affected East Asia from April to November 2024.
  • Record Temperatures: Monthly average temperature records were repeatedly broken in Japan (April, July, October), Republic of Korea (April, June, August, September), and China (April, May, August, September, November).
  • Japan: National mean summer temperature equaled the hottest on record, matching the 2023 record at 1.76∘C above the 1991-2020 average.
  • India: Experienced intense heatwaves, leading to over 450 deaths across the country, with temperatures nearing 50∘C in some regions.
  • Other Regions: Extreme high temperatures affected Makkah (Saudi Arabia, reaching 49∘C), northwestern Russian Federation (7-10$^\circ C$ above normal), Thailand (exceeding 5∘C above long-term average), and central Myanmar (new national record of 48.2∘C).

• Extreme Rainfall & Floods
  • UAE: Recorded an unprecedented 259.5 mm of rainfall in 24 hours in mid-April—one of its most extreme precipitation events since 1949.
  • India (Kerala): Major landslides occurred in Wayanad district on July 30, following extreme rainfall (exceeding 500 mm in 48 hours), resulting in over 350 deaths.
  • Nepal: Record-breaking rainfall in late September triggered severe floods, killing at least 246 people and causing damages exceeding Nepali Rupees 12.85 billion.
  • Philippines, Vietnam, China, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar: Devastated by Typhoon Yagi, Asia’s strongest and deadliest tropical cyclone in 2024.
• Tropical Cyclones:
  • North Indian Ocean: Four tropical cyclones formed (three in Bay of Bengal: Remal, Dana, Fengal; one in Arabian Sea: Asna).
  • Cyclone Remal: Made landfall near Mongla and Khepupara coasts in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, on May 26, 2024, causing flooding of up to 2.5m due to storm surge and heavy rainfall.
  • Cyclone Asna: Developed in August over the Arabian Sea, a rare occurrence (only three times since 1891). It impacted Oman with rough waves.
  • Cyclone Fengal: Tracked close to Sri Lanka before making landfall in India on November 30. Caused heavy rainfall, strong winds, floods, and landslides in Sri Lanka, leading to 18 fatalities and displacing approximately 5,000 people.
• Lightning: About 1,300 lives were lost across various parts of India due to lightning events.
• One particularly deadly event on July 10 killed 72 people across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand.
• Drought:
  • China: Affected nearly 4.8 million people, damaged 335,200 hectares of crops, and led to estimated direct losses of Chinese Yuan (CNY) 2.89 billion.
  • Droughts caused heavy economic and agricultural losses in other parts of the region as well.

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