In Pictures

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High hopes for COP27, but warnings of disappointment

Leaders, diplomats, campaigners and scientists descend on Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt for talks on tackling climate change.

Victims of the unprecedented flooding from monsoon rains use makeshift barge to carry hay for cattle, in Jaffarabad, a district of Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province
Victims of the unprecedented flooding from monsoon rains use a makeshift barge to carry hay for cattle, in Jaffarabad, a district of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, after widespread flooding displaced hundreds of thousands. [Fareed Khan/Reuters]
Published On 6 Nov 2022

Since 1992, when world leaders first came together to address global warming, humanity has spewed more than one trillion tonnes of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from fossil fuels into the air. The world got 0.6 degrees Celsius (1.1 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter.

Each year there are high hopes for the two-week United Nations climate gathering and, almost inevitably, disappointment when it does not deliver another landmark pact such as the one agreed on in 2015 in Paris.

Scientists are more concerned than three decades ago when governments first came together to discuss the problem. The pace of warming in the past decade is 33 percent faster than in the 1990s.

Greenhouse gas emissions are still rising, while tangible impacts from climate change are already being felt around the world.

But there is some progress. Before the Paris deal, the world was heading for 4.5C (8.1F) of warming by the end of the century compared with pre-industrial times. Recent forecasts have that down to 2.6C (4.7F) thanks to measures taken or firm commitments governments have already made.

That is far above the 1.5C (2.7F) limit countries agreed to seven years ago, however, and the time for keeping that target is fast running out.

Pakistani women wade through floodwaters
Pakistani women wade through floodwaters as they take refuge in Shikarpur district of Sindh province, Pakistan. [Fareed Khan/AP Photo]
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A formerly sunken boat rests on a now-dry section of lakebed at the drought-stricken Lake Mead, Nevada
A formerly sunken boat rests on a now-dry section of a lakebed. Lake Mead, North America's largest artificial reservoir, has dropped to its lowest level since being filled in 1937. [Mario Tama/Getty Images]
Anderson Soletti walks at his soy plantation affected by drought.
A man walks through his soy plantation affected by drought in Espumoso, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. [Diego Vara/Reuters]
People sleep on the Yamuna river bed under a bridge on a hot summer day
People sleep on the Yamuna River bed under a bridge on a hot summer day in New Delhi, India. [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]
a man walks along the waterfront, now littered with debris
In Fort Myers Beach, Florida, a man walks along the waterfront littered with debris, including shrimp boats, in the mobile home park where he and his wife had a winter home, one week after Hurricane Ian struck. [Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo]
An armed ranger assists in feeding rescued elephant calves at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, in Samburu, Kenya, 12 October 2022 [Daniel Irungu/EPA]
A ranger assists in feeding rescued elephant calves with milk, after some were separated from their mothers or orphaned, at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Samburu, Kenya, which continues to be strained by the overwhelming rescues needed amid the ongoing drought in East Africa. The worst drought in 40 years is now threatening wildlife and conservation efforts in the region. [Daniel Irungu/EPA]
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A Somali woman and child wait to be given a spot to settle at a camp for displaced people
A Somali woman and child wait to be given a spot to settle at a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of Dollow, Somalia, which has long-known droughts, but the climate shocks are now coming more frequently, leaving less room to recover and prepare for the next. [Jerome Delay/AP Photo]
Residents watch part of the Sheep Fire wildfire
Residents watch part of the Sheep Fire wildfire burn through a hillside forest near their homes in Wrightwood, California. [Kyle Grillot/Reuters]
A volunteer distribute free drinking water
A volunteer distributes drinking water outside a Sikh temple in New Delhi, India amid a scorching heatwave. Mid-May 2022 saw temperatures reach 44C (111.2 F) in Delhi and 48C (118.4F) in Barmer, Rajasthan. [Rajat Gupta/EPA]
Biban, a pregnant farmer, clears unwanted grass at a muskmelon farm
A farmer clears unwanted grass at a muskmelon farm during a heatwave on the outskirts of Jacobabad, Pakistan, which in May 2022 became the hottest city on Earth. [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]
A teacher dries out books at a school that was heavily damaged by Hurricane
A teacher dries out books at a school that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian in La Coloma, in the province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. [Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo]
A view of pagodas on Louxingdun island during a drought.
Pagodas on Louxingdun island usually remain partially submerged under the water of Poyang Lake, which is facing low water levels because of a regional drought in Lushan, Jiangxi province, China. [Thomas Peter/Reuters]
Sunflower fields are completely dry near Strasbourg, eastern France, as Europe weathers a major summer drought that has fuelled forest fires, dried up rivers, and devastated crops. [Jean-Francois Badias/AP Photo]
Man walks amid dead fish at Lagoa do Peixe.
A member of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation walks amid dead fish at Fish Lagoon in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, which was affected by drought in February. [Diego Vara/Reuters]
A man looks at the sea at the beach in Nagua, Dominican Republic
A man looks at the sea from a beach in Nagua, Dominican Republic as Hurricane Fiona makes landfall, after the storm tore through Puerto Rico. [Erika Santelices/AFP]