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GENEVA / EXTREME WEATHER REAX
STORY: GENEVA / EXTREME WEATHER REAX
TRT: 2:59
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 4 MAY 2018 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exteriort, Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, United Nations press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Clare Nullis, spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO):
“The India Meteorological Department is issuing forecasts of more storm activity in the next few days. This includes parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan which were impacted by storms and sand and dust storms in on Wednesday and Thursday.”
4. Med shot, journalists.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Clare Nullis, spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO):
“Storms are common in the pre-monsoon season in India. But the severity and the impact of this particular storm is exceptional. I’ve spoken to a number of colleagues this morning at WMO and they say they’ve you know, they’ve never heard anything like it.”
6. Close up, journalist typing on laptop.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Clare Nullis, spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO):
“Two meteorological stations in Pakistan just over the border reported temperatures of at least 50° Celsius on 30 April; this is April, not June and July, this is April, we don’t normally see temperatures above 50 degrees C, in fact as we’re aware we’ve never seen a temperature above 50 degrees C in April.”
8. Close up, journalist.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Clare Nullis, spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “In Pakistan like in many other countries in the world they are trying to do something about it, so there is now a heatwave early warning centre in Karachi. This is a new development and a move designed to try to ensure that the very, very high fatalities that we have seen in previous years from heatwaves are a thing of the past. The heat will continue but we can do something about it; we can issue warnings and get people to take precautions.”
10. Close up, journalist.
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Clare Nullis, spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO):
“Germany’s average temperature of 12.4°C was 4.0°C above the long-term baseline according to the German weather service. That is a big, you know, that is a big quantity.”
12. Mid shot, journalists.
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Clare Nullis, spokesperson, World Meteorological Organization (WMO):
“Spain’s Izaña observing station in Tenerife which is part of WMO’s Global Atmosphere Watch network, that reported a new record concentration of carbon dioxide of nearly 414 parts per million on 7 April. In the northern hemisphere spring is the peak time for CO2 concentrations so they do traditionally rise and then in the summer and the autumn when you’ve got more vegetation to absorb CO2, they fall back, but even so, you know, 414 is exceptionally high.”
14: Med shot, journalists
15: Close up, journalist
16. Close up, journalist
Deadly storms in India and record temperatures in Pakistan are an indication that more extreme weather events are happening globally as a result of climate change, a United Nations weather agency said on Friday.
Clare Nullis, a spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) described this week’s lightning, sand and dust storms in northern India that claimed more than 100 lives as “exceptional”.
Nullis told journalists in Geneva that“storms are common in the pre-monsoon season in India. But the severity and the impact of this particular storm is exceptional. I’ve spoken to a number of colleagues this morning at WMO and they say they’ve you know, they’ve never heard anything like it.”
She said that more bad weather is expected, adding in “the India Meteorological Department is issuing forecasts of more storm activity in the next few days. This includes parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan which were impacted by storms and sand and dust storms in on Wednesday and Thursday.”
On a more positive note, the WMO spokesperson underlined that many nations were far better prepared to protect people from extreme weather events.
Nullis said “in Pakistan like in many other countries in the world they are trying to do something about it, so there is now a heatwave early warning centre in Karachi. This is a new development and a move designed to try to ensure that the very, very high fatalities that we have seen in previous years from heatwaves are a thing of the past. The heat will continue but we can do something about it; we can issue warnings and get people to take precautions.”
More unusual conditions were recorded this week over the border in neighbouring Pakistan, where temperatures surpassed 50 degrees Celsius last month – a first for April, Nullis said:
“Two meteorological stations in Pakistan just over the border reported temperatures of at least 50 degrees Celsius on 30 April; this is April, not June and July, this is April, we don’t normally see temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius, in fact as we’re aware we’ve never seen a temperature above 50 degrees Celsius in April.”
The new national temperature record of 50.2 degrees Celsius – that’s 122.4 Fahrenheit - was recorded in Shaheed Benazirabad in Nawabshah District, Pakistan, earlier this week.
The WMO spokesperson said that extreme events including heatwaves and heavy rainfall are increasing in frequency and intensity because of climate change.
Above-average seasonal rainfall and flooding have also reportedly claimed more than 100 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the East and Horn of Africa, while severe sand and dust storms have hit Arabian Gulf and parts of Asia.
And although April is not expected to be the warmest month globally, a number of countries set new national temperature records, including Germany.
Nullis added “Germany’s average temperature of 12.4°C was 4.0°C above the long-term baseline according to the German weather service. That is a big, you know, that is a big quantity.”
Another unenviable record broken in April was carbon dioxide levels, which reached nearly 414 parts per million on 7 April.
CO2 levels change with the seasons, but the overall trend of greenhouse gases remains upwards.
Nullis said “Spain’s Izaña observing station in Tenerife which is part of WMO’s Global Atmosphere Watch network, that reported a new record concentration of carbon dioxide of nearly 414 parts per million on 7 April. In the northern hemisphere spring is the peak time for CO2 concentrations so they do traditionally rise and then in the summer and the autumn when you’ve got more vegetation to absorb CO2, they fall back, but even so, you know, 414 is exceptionally high.”
Turning to Arctic sea ice cover as another indication of our fast-changing climate, Nullis warned that levels in the Bering Sea – which connects the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic Ocean - reached a record low at the end of April.
She said “Basically the Bering Sea is ice-free,” she said, adding that it would normally contain more than half a million square kilometres of ice.
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