the world meteorological organization

Latin America and the Caribbean had their warmest year on record in 2023 as a "double-whammy" of El Nino and climate change caused major weather calamities, the World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday.

Asia was the world's most disaster-hit region from climate and weather hazards in 2023, the United Nations said Tuesday, with floods and storms the chief cause of casualties and economic losses.

Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the U.N.'s weather and climate agency said Asia was warming at a particularly rapid pace.

Europe is increasingly facing bouts of heat so intense that the human body cannot cope, as climate change continues to raise temperatures, the EU's Copernicus climate monitoring service and the World Meteorological Organization said on Monday.

The heatwave scorching much of Northern Hemisphere is putting human lives on the line and threatening power grids. Climate change is exacerbating weather extremes, making heatwaves more frequent and more severe worldwide. Recently, scientists have associated persistent heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere with a northward displacement of the jet stream.

That is causing problems for countries around the world and prompting them to urgently address climate change, which scientists say will make heat waves more frequent, more severe and more deadly, according to Reuters.

The heatwave engulfing the northern hemisphere, including Greece, is set to intensify this week, causing overnight temperatures to surge and leading to an increased risk of heart attacks and deaths, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday.

The World Meteorological Organization said on Monday that a heatwave affecting the Mediterranean is forecast to intensify by mid-week and is likely to continue into August in some places.

New records have already been set for specific weather stations in parts of the northern hemisphere and new national records may also be set, the UN agency's website said.

Monday was the world's hottest day on record, exceeding an average of 17 degrees Celsius (62.6 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time, according to initial measurements taken on Tuesday by US meteorologists.

From Death Valley to the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent to sub-Saharan Africa, global warming has already made daily life unbearable for millions of people.

And if nothing is done to slow climate change, the record temperatures and deadly heatwaves it brings will only get worse, experts warn.

Weather disasters are striking the world four to five times more often and causing seven times more damage than in the 1970s, the United Nations weather agency reports.