The Global Risks Report 2024 warns that extreme weather events will be the world’s most severe risk from 2024 to 2026. Released by the World Economic Forum on Jan. 10, 2024, it also predicts these events will be the gravest global risks over the next decade, through 2034. The strengthening El Niño is expected to persist until May 2024, potentially breaking heat records and leading to extreme weather conditions like heat waves, cyclones, droughts, wildfires, and flooding.

In 2023, the World Meteorological Organization confirmed it was the warmest year on record. The organization notes the Earth’s climate system, including the atmosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere, is influenced by interactions among these components. Monitoring elements like temperature and ice cover helps in predicting future climate patterns.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reported recent climate changes as unprecedented over centuries. Human influence has significantly warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land, causing widespread changes.

With 2024 underway, experts predict another record-setting hot year. The last decade experienced the warmest years on record, mainly in the past 40 years.

Improved attribution science now allows linking extreme weather to climate change. The World Weather Attribution program found climate change exacerbates events like droughts and heatwaves. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Russell Vose emphasizes the growing risk of extreme weather. Unprepared regions are particularly at risk, and weather impacts are uneven across society, with vulnerable groups facing greater challenges.

In Taiwan’s recent election, despite China’s superior size and strength, 23 million citizens independently elected Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as president. The election highlights democracy’s unpredictability compared to authoritarian regimes. In contrast, outcomes of elections in Russia and China are often predetermined. The DPP did not secure a parliamentary majority, showcasing democracy’s complexities.

The Taiwanese people’s choice reflects their desire for freedom and de facto statehood, despite pressure from Beijing. During the election, they faced disinformation and bribery, now under investigation.

The Center for European Policy Analysis observes the global reaction to Taiwan’s election. The U.S. State Department recognized the winner by name, unlike Germany, France, or the European Commission. Lithuanian lawmaker Matas Maldeikis and Japanese politician Kei Furuya are among the first international figures to personally congratulate President Lai. How will Mauritius maneuver through the political dynamics between larger China and smaller Taiwan?