Last month warmest May on record — WMO

MANILA, Philippines — The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations’ weather agency, has confirmed that last month was the warmest May on record while carbon dioxide levels also hit a new high despite the economic slowdown due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Globally, May was .63 degrees Celsius warmer than the average May from 1981 to 2010. The Earth’s average surface temperature for the 12 months leading to May 2020 is close to 1.3 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the benchmark by which global warming is measured, according to reports.

In an urgent appeal recently, the WMO asked member states to renew their efforts to tackle climate threats.

The UN said climate disruption is getting worse as fires, floods, droughts and superstorms are becoming more frequent and damaging. It added that oceans are heating and acidifying, destroying coral ecosystems.

COVID-19 is also raging, undermining health and livelihoods, the organization stressed.

“Any industrial and economic slowdown from COVID-19 is no substitute for sustained, coordinated action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Taalas said.

This is because gases such as carbon dioxide and methane last in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, so any short-term effects seen during lockdown is not expected to have a long-term benefit.

The WMO chief added that if this course of action was taken, “there was an opportunity to start bending the curve (on emissions) in the coming five years.”