TEHRAN –The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released a report on the State of the Climate in Asia, enumerating climate hazards and severe weather events in Iran in 2023.

Asia remained the world’s most disaster-affected region in 2023 due to weather, climate, and water-related hazards. Storms and floods have hit the hardest, according to a new report published by the WMO on April 23.

The report has included extreme events such as floods, drought, dust storms, and strong winds that affected the country, ISNA reported.

According to the report, below-normal rainfall in most regions of Iran for the third consecutive year in 2023 has led to widespread drought in the country.

The eastern half experienced severe rainfall shortage within the year.  Decreased rain and severe drought in the region along with above-normal temperatures have resulted in the drying up of the main inland lakebed, the Hamoun Lake.

In Iran, autumn 2023 was much warmer than normal with severe shortages of rainfall throughout the country, the report added.

Severe dust storms hit most parts of Asia. In mid-September, a dust storm affected Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan causing serious health problems.

High winds in the southeast of the country from September 18 to 25, caused severe dust storms resulting in severe injuries and hospitalization.

Levar wind along with the dust from dried Hamoun wetland affected the region, causing adverse health effects, closure of schools, transportation hazards, and damage to crops.

According to the report, the flood that struck Astara city from September 17 to 19  significantly affected 300 households. The flood resulted from intense and prolonged rainfall in Astara on September 18. Within a span of 12 hours, 220 mm of rain was recorded causing profound damage.

Undeniable threat

The phenomenon of climate change on the planet has caused extreme weather conditions posing a real and undeniable threat to the entire civilization.

The consequences of climate change will be even more detrimental unless actions are taken now.

Climate change has already had many harmful effects on our country. Due to climate change, the air temperature has increased. Warmer temperature increases the rate of evaporation, a good example of which is the Caspian Sea's reduced volume of water.

On the other hand, there has been a noticeable decrease in the amount of snowfall in the country and a change in the pattern of precipitation from snow to rain can be seen. But the total amount of rainfall has decreased as well.

According to the World Health Organization, climate change is impacting health in a myriad of ways, including by leading to death and illness from increasingly frequent extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, storms, and floods, the disruption of food systems, increases in food-, water- and vector-borne diseases, and mental health issues.

As an example, climate change and the floods that hit the southeastern neighboring country two years ago, have jeopardized the malaria eradication program and caused the cases of malaria infection to spike from less than 1,000 to around 10,000.

Measures taken

Climate change with all its dimensions and consequences has caused serious challenges to life on the earth. One of the consequences of climate change, which has increased in intensity and occurrence, is the phenomenon of SDSs with severe harm to the world's biological and economic resources.

Holding the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, in line with the implementation of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 77/171, in Tehran in September 2023 with the cooperation of the United Nations, is an example of the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran to draw the attention of the international communities to the importance of these shared challenges and the necessity to find shared solutions to cope with these challenges

The conference, with the assistance of multilateral financial organizations and the United Nations, and the affected countries tried to compile, review, and implement sub-regional, regional, and global action plans to deal with dust storms and follow up on the creation of a regional fund for the West Asia region and the establishment of a regional center along with a network of countries affected by dust storms to investigate and follow up effectively.

In this regard, consulting with a group of interested countries and seeking the cooperation and support of UNEP and specialized funds, programs and agencies affiliated with the United Nations, the Islamic Republic of Iran submitted a draft resolution to the current session of the UNEA to take another step for collective action and develop appropriate regional and international mechanisms to deal with dust storms as one of the important hazards threatening our world and future.

The 6th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) has approved a resolution adopted at the international summit on dealing with sand and dust storms which was held in Tehran in September 2023.

The UNEA-6 was held from February 26 to March 1 at the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the world’s highest decision-making body on the environment.

MT/MG