Asia heating up at nearly twice the global average: Report

KATHMANDU: Asia is heating up at nearly twice the global average, with devastating climate consequences unfolding across the continent, according to a new report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The report, which offers a stark stocktake of Asia’s climate in 2024, paints a grim picture of intensifying heat, erratic rainfall, severe floods, and melting glaciers—many of which are concentrated in the fragile Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region.

That report states that 2024 was one of the most punishing years on record for Asia’s environment, with floods, droughts, cyclones and deadly heatwaves leaving millions affected, hundreds dead and economies reeling.

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), which contributed regional insights for the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, said the climate crisis is accelerating in some of the world’s most vulnerable and ecologically critical mountain systems.

In the central Himalayas, including Nepal, China’s Tibet and India’s Sikkim, extreme summer heat combined with diminished winter snowfall triggered intensified glacial melt. Of the 24 glaciers monitored in High Mountain Asia, 23 showed continued mass loss in 2024, according to the report. Snow cover during the boreal spring has also continued to decline, shrinking by an average of 215,000 sq km per decade across Asia, it added.

Heavy monsoon rains in Nepal during September and October last year led to destructive floods and landslides. Similarly, a glacial lake outburst flood in Thame in August destroyed homes, schools and health posts, displacing over 130 people. Meanwhile, record-setting heat waves across India and Myanmar claimed over 1,700 lives combined, with Myanmar hitting a new national high of 48.2°C.

Extreme rainfall events were also widespread. According to the report, Pakistan recorded its wettest April ever, and China’s Yangtze River basin faced prolonged drought, causing nearly 3 billion yuan in losses.  Sea surface temperatures in Asia’s surrounding oceans were the highest ever recorded and are now warming at nearly double the global rate.

“This is the last decade of action to preserve critical planetary systems such as glaciers,” said Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of ICIMOD. “The HKH countries must work together to confront this crisis and demand global action, particularly from high-emitting nations.”

Dr Qianggong Zhang, ICIMOD’s head of climate and environmental risk,  said the WMO report reinforces what scientists have warned for years—warming and rainfall extremes in the HKH are more intense than many other parts of the world. “It is crucial to not only generate knowledge but also build adaptive capacity on the ground,” he added.