Holiday Ayo - The increasingly extreme climate change problem has received serious attention from the United Nations (UN).

They warned a number of countries of the magnitude of the threat of the problem if it is not addressed immediately.

The warning was also addressed to Indonesia and a number of Asian countries. They highlighted the acceleration rate of key climate change indicators such as surface temperature, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels.

The spotlight on the increasingly extreme climate change was contained in the report of the UN wing agency, the World Meteorological Organization or WMO, entitled State of the Climate in Asia 2023. The report analyzes disasters that will occur in 2023.

WMO assesses that Asia is still the region most affected by natural problems in the world due to weather and climate.

This continent is experiencing warming faster than the global average with an increasing trend of almost twofold since the period 1961-1990.

"The conclusion of this report is very sobering for us," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo, Wednesday (2/4).

According to the WMO, many countries in Asia experienced their hottest year on record in 2023, accompanied by extreme conditions ranging from droughts and heatwaves to floods and storms.

Changes in the frequency and severity of climate events have a major impact on societies, economies and, most importantly, human life and the environment in which they live.

In 2023, a total of 79 disasters related to hydrometeorological hazards were reported in Asia, as reported by the Emergency Events Database.

Of these, more than 80% were related to floods and storms, with more than 2,000 fatalities and nine million people directly affected.

Extreme heat was also another reported event. Despite the increasing health risks posed, residents of Asia were fortunate to have no deaths reported.

"Once again, in 2023, vulnerable countries were disproportionately affected. For example, tropical cyclone Mocha, the strongest cyclone in the Bay of Bengal in a decade, hit Bangladesh and Myanmar," explained the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana who was a partner in the preparation of this report.

"Early warning and better preparedness have saved thousands of lives," she said.

Meanwhile, the same report also contains how sea levels rose from January 1993 to May 2023. State of the Climate in Asia 2023 also provides data indicating sea level rise covering the Indonesian region.

It is noted that many areas indicate Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) above the global average, which is 3.4 or ± 0.33 mm per year. Indonesia itself is in the yellow area which indicates a warning.

Previously, a USAID projection study in 2016 stated that rising sea levels would submerge 2,000 small islands by 2050. This means that 42 million people are at risk of losing their homes.