EXTREME weather events, which present a long-term risk across the globe, are becoming more intense and difficult to forecast in a rapidly warming world despite scientific advances, World Meteorological Organisation chief Celeste Saulo has said. She refused to attribute individual events such as the wildfires in Los Angeles to climate change but said they had ‘many ingredients’ directly linked to climate change. In an interview to PTI, Saulo said the WMO and Governments across the world were doing their best to improve the quality of forecasts, but the efforts were not enough considering the unprecedented rate of warming.

 

“We now have better forecasts, and many examples show how early warnings have saved lives and property. But extreme events are becoming so intense and unusual that they are more challenging to predict,” said Saulo, the first woman to hold the post of WMO chief. Saulo said climate change was leading to severe droughts worldwide, creating the perfect conditions for wildfires when combined with strong winds, dry vegetation, and extremely arid land. “For any individual event to be attributed to climate change, a scientific assessment is required. However, we can say that many ingredients for these events are directly linked to climate change,” she added. Saulo said disasters such as the Los Angeles wildfires are the result of ‘our own activities’.