World Meteorological Society Begins “Weather Reports of the Future” Series

On September 1, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) started “Weather Reports of the Future,” a series of hypothetical weather forecasts from the year 2050. WMO will release the video forecasts of 2050’s climate change-impacted weather every day on its Youtube channel until the United Nations (UN) Climate Summit begins in New York on September 23. “The weather reports are potential scenarios compatible with the most up-to-date climate science. . . They paint a compelling picture of what life could be like on a warmer planet,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.

The first episode was an overview highlighting the most likely global events to be caused by global warming, including heat waves, severe drought conditions, and floods due to hurricanes and rising sea levels. For example, it was reported that Miami South Beach “is under water” and that Arizona is experiencing a “mega-drought.” The reports use pictures and videos that show what the world will look like in 2050 with climate change. Apart from the first episode, which covered weather worldwide, each weather report focuses on one particular country. Countries have included Brazil, Japan, Denmark, Zambia, Burkina Faso, and the United States. The weather forecasts are done in different languages (translated subtitles are available in multiple languages) and the reporters are famous meteorologists from all over the world. Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said, “I would like to thank these weathermen and women for volunteering their time and their skill to communicate to millions of people the reality we are all facing by 2050 if climate change is left unaddressed. I am sure their films will inspire everyone of the absolute necessity of a meaningful, universal new agreement in Paris in 2015."

The weather forecast series hopes to increase people’s awareness of climate change issues and to push ambitious global action to prevent climate change, and associated changes in weather patterns, from becoming too intense. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urged countries to act together against climate change, saying, “Climate change is affecting the weather everywhere. It makes it more extreme and disturbs established patterns. That means more disasters, more uncertainty. We can reduce the risks by cutting global greenhouse gas emissions and building low-carbon economies. Let’s work together to make our societies safer and more resilient.”

To see the daily weather forecasts, visit WMO’s website.

 

Author: Yi Xu