February's Climate Extremes: Record Highs, Record Lows, and Refugee Concerns!

 According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), February brought with it abnormally high temperatures in both hemispheres and more intense heat. During the summer, the southern hemisphere saw intense heat waves, while the northern hemisphere experienced above-average winter temperatures. Numerous locations in North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe experienced temperatures that broke records. The sea surface temperature worldwide also hit all-time highs. Temperature surges were caused in part by the El Niño weather pattern, but long-term human-induced climate change was still a major role. On the other hand, during the final week of the month, there was exceptionally cold weather in some regions, including northwest Canada, central Asia, southern central Siberia, and southeast China.

Additionally, a shortage of food and other necessities has led to the UNHCR's growing concern about a possible migration of refugees from Darfur into Chad. Chad, which has been sheltering refugees from the civil conflict in Sudan for nearly a year, is in dire need of development funding and humanitarian assistance, especially for its eastern areas. Chad is still dedicated to maintaining its borders open for refugees despite the pressure it is under. The Deputy High Commissioner of the UNHCR underlined the necessity of assistance to maintain Chad's open-door policy in the face of persistent humanitarian crises and regional instability.