Climate Facts: Hot temperatures, heatwaves more frequent than cold events since 1950s

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargon can make it difficult to digest. TheCable’s climate quick facts will help to demystify these climate concepts through easy-to-understand and straight-to-the-point explanations.

Here are some to keep at the tip of your fingers:

1) According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global surface temperature was 1.09C (Celsius) higher in the decade between 2011-2020 than between 1850-1900.

2) It is “virtually certain” that hot extremes including heatwaves have become more frequent and more intense since the 1950s, while cold events have become less frequent and less severe, according to IPCC.

3) The World Metereological Organisation (WMO) states that global average temperature in 2019 was 1.1 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period.

4) 2019 concluded a decade of exceptional global heat, retreating ice and record sea levels driven by greenhouse gases produced by human activities, according to WMO.

5) According to IPCC, the most abundant greenhouse gas, accounting for about two-thirds of greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide (CO2) and it is largely the product of burning fossil fuels.