Climate in Crisis: Mother Nature’s Urgent Warnings and Escalating Disasters, Part 1 of a Multi-part Series

The summer of 2023 was the hottest on record. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the month of July 2023 was confirmed as the hottest month ever recorded, shattering every other past record. Well, experts say that the pressure on world leaders to curb planet heating greenhouse gas pollution has never been more urgent. According to the 2023 annual report released by Gallagher Re, one of the largest global reinsurance brokers, a record 63 weather-related disasters occurred globally during 2023, each of which caused US$1 billion or more in damages. According to Gallagher Re, the widespread, long-lasting, and oppressive heat wave in Europe killed more than 15,400 people, making it the deadliest disaster of 2023.

During the summer of 2023 heat waves also struck Mexico and the United States, causing 1,039 deaths. In February and March of 2023, Cyclone Freddy struck eastern Africa, killing 1,434 people, making it the deadliest tropical cyclone on record for the continent. During 2023, the country suffered 28 “billion dollar-plus” weather/climate disasters, including a major drought, four floods, 19 severe wind and rainstorms, two tropical cyclones, and a severe winter storm. In December 2023, Australia’s northern region witnessed its heaviest rain in decades, as families were left stranded on rooftops overnight. In November 2023, Iceland declared a state of emergency when more than a hundred earthquakes rocked the nation. This eventually led to the eruption of a volcano near the town of Grindavik, where almost 4,000 residents were forced to evacuate their homes. Meanwhile, on December 3, 2023, a furious volcanic eruption occurred at Mount Merapi in Indonesia. In January, Mount Merapi erupted for a second time. The ever-growing number of disasters indicates that climate change has reached a critical point, and experts state that we must take immediate steps to halt further warming.