Bernard Gomez, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Representative for North, Central, and West Africa, says that due to global warming, there will be more weather and climate shocks in 2024.

Mr Gomez said this in an interview on Thursday in Abuja.

According to him, Nigeria and other countries across the globe should expect more weather and climate shocks regarding the trend of Greenhouse gases.

“We are expecting more shocks in 2024. 2023 was the hottest year since records began in the world, and that has been the trend for the past 10 years. In fact, 2023 was just capping what was there in 2022, 2021 and since 2015. We have seen a significant increase in warming, and that just keeps increasing.

“I have been in Nigeria for the past 10 years, specifically in Abuja. I have never experienced the heat that I am experiencing this year,” he said.

Mr Gomez said that the North, Central, and West African communities would need more commitment to generate more observations to predict what would happen.

He added that the region’s forecasters should be supported and trained to bring out good and accurate forecasts for action implementation to save lives and livelihoods.

“That is extremely important, and, of course, we are not alone in this. The rest of the world is grappling with climate change and extreme weather events, and we are also learning from others.

“We learn and implement according to our environment. For instance, we are lucky that we are not in the tropical cyclone belt, where you have hurricanes and other things. Notwithstanding, we also have issues like floods and heat waves, which are very common in this part of the world,” he said.

According to him, humanity met a well-balanced planet, but industrialisation, pollution, and other human interferences are causing shocks and vulnerabilities.

He urged policymakers to show political will toward addressing climate change.

(NAN)