Where Has Global Warming Accelerated Fastest?

A report released today by the World Meteorological Organization shows that temperature warming in Asia has increased fast over the past decades. In the years between 1991 and 2024, the continent has been warming at a rate of 0.45 Celcius per decade. This is more than double the rate the continent experienced between 1961 and 1990 and almost double the current global average.

Looking at the 1991 to 2020 average, temperatures in Asia were 1.04° Celcius above this threshold in 2024, making the year the hottest i.e. second-hottest on record depending on the dataset. Sea surface temperature also reached record highs last year. Asian regions identified as having experienced more drastic warming than others included western China, Japan, mainland Southeast Asia, the Middle East and parts of Siberia. One area, the sea of Okhotsk and its coast near the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula, experienced cooler temperatures in 2024 compared to the 1991-2020 average.

Sea level rise in Asia was also above the global average in several regions, according to the report, including locations in the Indian Ocean, the Western Pacific and the Australian coast.

Other continents warming quickly were North America and Europe. In the case of Asia, researchers named its big landmass as a reason behind fast warming as landmasses react to warming more starkly than water surfaces. Other effects of climate change in Asia were identified as shrinking glaciers lacking winter snowfall and suffering from summer heat. Prolongue heatwaves and maritime heatwaves have also plagued the continent, as well as major cyclones, rainfall, floods and droughts that have all introduced major hardship to the people affected.