Two Reports Launched on Sea Level Rise, Coastal Flooding and Climate Urgency

United Nations and WMO, 26 August 2024

In Tonga, UN Secretary-General António Guterres released a special briefing on sea-level rise alongside the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO’s) State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2023 Report. The UNSG’s brief summarizes the latest science on future sea level-rise at a global and regional level, with a focus on major coastal cities in G20 countries and the Pacific Small Island Developing States. The WMO’s State of the Climate report echoed these messages, detailing how sea-level rise threatens the future of Pacific islands in particular. The Report also assessed climate trends during 2023, including temperature, precipitation and extreme events like tropical cyclones, drought and extreme heat in the region. These findings make clear that climate actions and decisions taken by political leaders and policymakers in coming months and years will determine how devastating these impacts will become, and how quickly they may worsen.

UNSG’s Surging Seas in a Warming World Report: https://www.un.org/climatechange/reports/sea-level-rise
WMO’s State of the Climate Report: https://wmo.int/publication-series/state-of-climate-south-west-pacific-2023