By J Nastranis

NEW YORK | 24 June 2025 (WorldView) — China recorded the highest average temperature in April 2024. The subsequent months followed suit, with record-breaking temperatures observed in May, August, September, and November. However, China was not the only Asian country to experience several new high temperatures in 2024.

The continent is warming twice as fast as the global average, according to a report released on 23 June by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This rate of warming — which shows no signs of slowing down — is leading to devastating consequences for lives and livelihoods across the region, and no country is exempt from these consequences.

“Extreme weather is already exacting an unacceptably high toll,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

Expansive Land Area, Elevated Temperatures

The WMO report stated that Asia is warming twice as fast as global averages due to its large landmass, which explains why temperatures over land increase more quickly than those over the sea.

“Variations in surface temperature have a large impact on natural systems and human beings,” the report said. The oceans around Asia are also experiencing temperature increases, with surface temperatures in the Indian and Pacific Oceans reaching record levels in 2024.

Additionally, prolonged heatwaves, both on land and at sea, wreaked havoc across the region, leading to the melting of glaciers and rising sea levels.

Excessive and Insufficient Water

Some countries and communities in Asia were ravaged by record rainfall. Northern Kerala in India, for example, experienced a fatal landslide which killed over 350 people.

Record rainfall, coupled with snowmelt in Kazakhstan, which is home to thousands of glaciers, led to the worst flooding in 70 years.

The exact opposite problem ravaged others — not enough rainfall. A summer-long drought in China, for example, affected over 4.76 million people and damaged hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops.

The WMO emphasised in the report that the only way to adapt to these increasingly polar weather patterns is to install more comprehensive early warning systems, coupled with capacity-building measures that enable communities to become more resilient.

Nepal: An analysis of readiness

The WMO report lauded Nepal’s success in installing early warning systems, which monitor flooding risks among other things, while also stating that more comprehensive action was necessary.

Nepal experienced extreme rainfall, which created landslides and flooding across large swaths of the country between 26 and 28 September 2024. 246 people were killed, 178 injured, and over 200 missing in the wake of the climate emergency.

Although the impact of the crisis was extreme, early flood warning systems enabled communities to prepare for evacuation, in addition to crisis responders to reach the worst-hit regions quickly.

“This is the first time in 65 years that the flooding was this bad. We had zero casualties thanks to preparedness and rescue measures, but the damage was extensive,” said Ramesh Karki, Mayor of Barahakshetra, an affected municipality in Eastern Nepal.

Besides, comprehensive national protocols on emergency funding ensured that funding for humanitarian and rebuilding needs was quickly dispersed throughout the country.

The WMO stated that it is working with the Nepalese government and other partners to continue improving these systems.

“The work of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and their partners is more important than ever to save lives and livelihoods,” Ms. Saulo said. (WorldView)

Image: Children jump into a canal in central Viet Nam. © ADB/Viet Tuan