Globally, 2023 was the hottest year ever recorded, continuing the trend that saw the nine warmest years on record between 2015 and 2023.
A recent analysis from the World Meteorological Organisation has indicated that 79 serious climate disasters registered on the continent in 2023 harmed over nine million people in Asia. More than 2,000 people were killed in the disasters, even though the region saw its second-highest mean temperature increase ever.
The area most affected by disasters in 2018 was Asia and the Pacific. The 2023 State of Climate in Asia study emphasizes how rapidly rising sea levels and surface temperatures are two key markers of climate change that are already having a substantial impact on businesses and communities. The paper also highlights discrepancies in climate estimates and the capacity of Asian nations to both adapt to and lessen the effects of climate change.
According to historical patterns, the nine warmest years between 2015 and 2023 were followed by the warmest year on record, 2023. The most recent year for which worldwide data is available, 2022, had record highs for the atmospheric concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
About 25% of the yearly carbon dioxide emissions caused by humans into the atmosphere between 1960 and 2021 have been absorbed by the oceans. The ocean’s heat content reached a record level in 2023 as the trend continued.
Around 110 deaths were reported as a result of heatwaves that occurred in India between April and June, according to the study. El Niño is responsible for the record-high monthly mean temperature and remarkable rainfall shortfall that India saw in August 2023.
Over the North Indian Ocean, tropical storm activity was somewhat above normal. On December 5, Cyclone Michaung made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, killing around twenty persons.
August 2023 saw heavy rains and landslides in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, which resulted in significant infrastructure damage and the deaths of about 25 people.
In October, a glacial lake outburst flood in Sikkim caused the Teesta III hydroelectric dam to collapse, inflicting thousands of people’s suffering and killing over 100 people. According to the paper, glaciers that are retreating due to climate change create glacial lakes, which increases the frequency of this kind of calamity.
Temperature In 2023, Asia registered the second-highest mean temperature ever recorded. Kazakhstan and Japan saw record-breaking warm years.
Precipitation The research noted that the Indian summer monsoon in 2023 was below normal.
Around the Ganga and lower course of the Brahmaputra rivers (India and Bangladesh), the Arakan mountains (Myanmar), the lower course of the Mekong River, the Turan Lowland (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan), the Hindu Kush (Afghanistan, Pakistan), the Himalayas, and many other regions of Asia recorded below-normal precipitation in 2023.
A drought hit southwest China. Snow and glaciers In 2023, the rate of glacier retreat accelerated. The East Himalayas and the Tian Shan mountains of Central Asia saw high temperatures and dry conditions that hastened the melting of glacier material. In 2023, there was less snow cover over Asia than on average between 1998 and 2020.
Ocean heat and sea surface temperatures. More than three times as quickly as the average sea surface temperature worldwide, the Arabian Sea, the western edge of the North Pacific Ocean basin, the Southern Barents Sea, the Southern Kara Sea, and the South-Eastern Laptev Sea are warming.
India, Pakistan, and Yemen were most severely affected by floods and storms, which accounted for the majority of natural disaster-related deaths in Asia in 2023. The data examined for the research shows that these meteorological phenomena accounted for more than 80% of the year’s documented extreme climate occurrences.
Approximately 600 deaths were recorded in India, Pakistan, and Nepal in June and July
as a result of floods, landslides, and lightning.
A typhoon on September 7 caused the Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters to record the greatest hourly rainfall total since records began in 1884—158.1 mm. Additionally, October had record-breaking daily rainfall in Vietnam. Following rains, floods also occurred in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
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