“These events highlight that we are already experiencing the devastating consequences of our warming world,” she said.

WMO Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas said extreme weather events last year “claimed far too many lives and livelihoods, and undermined health, food, energy and water security and infrastructure.

“Large areas of Pakistan were flooded, with major economic losses and human casualties. Record-breaking heatwaves have been observed in China, Europe, North and South America. The long-lasting drought in the Horn of Africa threatens a humanitarian catastrophe.”

The worlds’ oceans were also the hottest-ever in 2022, beating previous records set in 2021, 2020 and 2019, according to new research published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.

As excess heat in the atmosphere is absorbed by oceans, these temperatures are considered a key climate change indicator.

“The state of our oceans can measure the world’s health, and judging by the updated oceanic observations … we need a doctor,” said the study’s authors in a statement.

They found that the amount of heat added to the oceans in 2022 is equivalent to 100 times the total global electricity generation last year.

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