ISLAMABAD: Asia is currently warming at nearly twice the global average, fueling more extreme weather events and exerting a heavy toll on the region’s economies, ecosystems, and societies, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report released Monday.
The annual report, which provides policy-relevant data to support national and regional decision-making, noted that the impact of heatwaves in Asia has intensified significantly, while melting glaciers are now threatening the region’s long-term water security.
According to the report, 2024 was recorded as either the warmest or second-warmest year on record, depending on the dataset, with widespread and prolonged heatwaves observed across the continent. The warming trend between 1991 and 2024 was nearly double that of the 1961–1990 period.
“Asia, with the largest land mass extending into the Arctic, is warming more than twice as fast as the global average because temperature increases over land are significantly higher than over oceans,” the report highlighted.
In 2024, record-breaking ocean heatwaves also gripped large areas. Sea surface temperatures across Asia reached the highest on record, with the warming rate averaging 0.24°C per decade—nearly double the global average.
Sea level rise on both the Pacific and Indian Ocean coasts of Asia exceeded global averages, heightening risks for low-lying coastal regions, including major population centers.
Furthermore, the report states that most of Asia’s ocean area was affected by marine heatwaves of strong, severe, or even extreme intensity—marking the largest extent of such events since records began in 1993. The northern Indian Ocean, waters near Japan, and the Yellow and East China Seas were among the most severely impacted regions.
