In 2021, international events addressed climate change as the main and urgent subject. Some of the most concerning topics were the extreme and devastating climate events and scientific reports on climate and biodiversity, which have gathered alarming data and informing us on a possible threat to life on Earth.

These climate changes are directly related to human action and generate events of extreme weather conditions. To restore this balance, it is necessary to reform the way we interact with nature, as discussed at the UN Climate Conference (COP26). With this in mind, the UN News service has gathered the most important information on climate subjects in a review divided in reports published last year.

The Global Climate Status report, by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), alerted that the global average temperature had already increased by 1.22° C in April; ideally, this average should remain no more than 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels. This strenghtens the possibility that this threshold will be overcome in the next five years. According to an environmental study by the UN made public in October, the world is heading towards a 2.7° C increase before the century is over.

Other reports show that the concentrations of greenhouse gases are reaching record levels and that the planet is headed towards dangerous levels of overheating, with consequences including more frequente extreme climate events such as intense floods and forest fires. According to the WMO, in the last decades the increase in natural disasters has disproportionally affected poorer countries, worsening food insecurity and poverty.