World Meteorological Organization

These conditions have been factored into our planning for the coming fire season, with preparations commencing earlier than usual.

Last week, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization warned the El Nino that had formed was likely to be the strongest on record and extend into 2027.

A key indicator of the phenomenon known as Nino 3.4 Index measures sea surface temperature anomalies in central eastern equatorial Pacific.

It shows anomalies in the region have increased from an average 1.5 degrees above normal during May-July 2026 and 2 degrees above normal in July.

The planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up.

Sea surface temperatures are rising, temperatures keep climbing, and the world is in the danger zone of extreme weather.

The World Meteorological Organization expects 2027 to be the hottest year on record.

surpassing records set in 2024, 2023 and 2025.

Yes, that's right.

So at the moment, when we look at where we're at in terms of this El Nino event, It was officially announced in June by the World Meteorological Organization.

And right now in August, the anomaly in the part of the ocean where we measure the strength of the El Niño is at two degrees Celsius, and it's already at the same anomaly strength as the last El Niño that we saw in 2023.

And when we look at the seasonal forecast, The expectation is that this event will intensify until the Northern Hemisphere winter, so November, December time.

A new report finds areas which had slashed pollution from vehicles and industry now face fresh risks from wildfire smoke, while higher temperatures brought by severe heat waves are driving up ground-level ozone.

This is Lorenzo Labrador, a scientific officer of the World Meteorological Organization which issued the report.

Wildfires have the potential to undermine progress made in, in, uh, uh, brought about by air quality measures in many countries because no matter how clean your city or your region is because of reduced emissions due to whatever measures you put in place, if you had a lot of pollution brought to, brought about by wildfires, that has the potential to negatively impact air quality in those regions as well, so yes.

A federal appeals court has ruled the US Constitution does not guarantee the right to clean drinking water, rejecting a lawsuit by residents of Jackson, Mississippi, who say their city knowingly allowed them to drink tap water contaminated with lead.

A new report finds areas which had slashed pollution from vehicles and industry now face fresh risks from wildfire smoke, while higher temperatures brought by severe heat waves are driving up ground-level ozone.

This is Lorenzo Labrador, a scientific officer of the World Meteorological Organization which issued the report.

Wildfires have the potential to undermine progress made in, in, uh, uh, brought about by air quality measures in many countries, because no matter how clean your city or your region is because of reduced emissions due to whatever measures you put in place, if you have a lot of pollution brought to, brought about by wildfires, that has the potential to negatively impact air quality in those regions as well, so yes.

A federal appeals court has ruled the US Constitution does not guarantee the right to clean drinking water, rejecting a lawsuit by residents of Jackson, Mississippi, who say their city knowingly allowed them to drink tap water contaminated with lead.

Un nuevo informe revela que las áreas que habían reducido la contaminación generada por el transporte y la industria ahora enfrentan nuevos riesgos debido al humo de los incendios forestales, mientras que las severas olas de calor están provocando temperaturas más altas, que a su vez están generando un aumento del ozono a ras de suelo.

Estas fueron las palabras expresadas por Lorenzo Labrador, funcionario científico de la Organización Meteorológica Mundial, la agencia de la ONU que emitió el informe.

Los incendios forestales tienen el potencial de socavar el progreso logrado por muchos países mediante la implementación de medidas relacionadas con la calidad del aire.

Porque no importa cuán limpia sea tu ciudad o región debido a la medida que sea que se haya implementado para reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, si hay mucha contaminación provocada por los incendios forestales, eso también tiene el potencial de afectar negativamente la calidad del aire en esas regiones.

A new report finds areas which had slashed pollution from vehicles and industry now face fresh risks from wildfire smoke, while higher temperatures brought by severe heat waves are driving up ground-level ozone.

This is Lorenzo Labrador, a scientific officer of the World Meteorological Organization which issued the report.

Wildfires have the potential to undermine progress made in, in, uh, uh, brought about by air quality measures in many countries because no matter how clean your city or your region is because of reduced emissions due to whatever measures you put in place, if you have a lot of pollution brought to, brought about by wildfires, that has the potential to negatively impact air quality in those regions as well.

So yes.

And although regulations in Europe and North America have reduced industrial and transport emissions of PM2.5 matter, exposure to fire-related PM2.5 has increased.

One study cited by the WMO Bulletin indicates that extreme fire smoke events have tripled globally since the 1990s, contributing to an estimated... almost 100,000 additional deaths per year between 2010 and 2018.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.

SADC chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa has extended his condolences to Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on the passing of her husband Hafid Amir Hassan.