The planet is in the midst of extreme weather events. Fiery blazes and heat waves on the one hand, floods and disasters on the other.

But the earth has also faced sharp fluctuations in weather in the past, while a global food crisis hangs like a Damocles’ sword over the earth due to climate destabilization.

What is different now and why is the scientific community on alert?

Dr. José Álvaro Silva, Advisor to the Climate Service of the World Meteorological Organization, explains exclusively to SKAI and Korina Georgiou what is the concern factor of the experts.

It even warns that within the next 5 years it is estimated to be the hottest year on record, with 2023 already the third warmest on record.

Alarm bells are still ringing for agricultural production in Southern Europe, which is at risk of being significantly reduced due to the climate crisis.

Read the full interview here:

K.G.: Dr. Silva, thank you for being on SKAI. We are seeing extreme weather events unfolding in the heart of summer in different parts of Europe but also more widely in the world. But the planet has experienced extreme weather conditions in the past during the summer season. What is different now that has scientists so concerned?

Jose Alvaro Silva: We see extreme phenomena almost everywhere. We now have more intense and more frequent extreme weather events, that is my concern factor. For every additional degree Celsius the earth registers, we expect the amount of water in the atmosphere to increase by 7%. Also, changes in air currents cause weather patterns that lead to heat waves and other types of extremes, and this sometimes means that in one area we can have extreme heat, while in another we can have heavy rain. Also, we can experience extreme heat one week and below average temperatures the next, as we have seen happen this summer.

K.G.: What will summers in Southern Europe look like in the near future? What should we Greeks expect and what follows after an extremely hot summer? What kind of winter?

Jose Alvaro Silva: What is predicted in the future is an increase in extreme temperatures. So now we experience hotter summers, more extended periods of hot and dry climate, a phenomenon that occurs more in the Mediterranean countries, affecting Southern Europe and Northern Africa. This also means less precipitation during the year, and during the summer more record temperatures, higher temperatures. But during the winter the cold phenomena still occur, but not with the same frequency as in the past. Therefore we may see shorter periods of time during which we will experience the cold. The last eight years have been the warmest on record and what we predict is that between 2023 and 2027 it is very likely that we will have recorded the warmest year on record. This year is, so far, the third warmest on record and the “El Nino” phenomenon has not yet fully manifested itself.

K.G.: Should we prepare for a food crisis due to climate catastrophe? Can the climate crisis lead to a food crisis?

Jose Alvaro Silva: Due to climate change, some areas will not be able to continue producing their cultivated species as in the past. Mediterranean regions are now faced with the consequences of droughts that are increasing in frequency. Southern Europe may experience some impacts on some agricultural practices due to this extended dry season and the scarcity of water that has existed throughout the year.