A damning new report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warns millions around the world that the hottest years on record will happen within five years.
Scientists have issued a warning that the temperatures are likely to rise by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
The UN agency reports that the breaching of the crucial 1.5C threshold, which scientists have warned could have dire consequences, should be only temporary. However, it would represent a marked acceleration of human impacts on the global climate system, and send the world into "uncharted territory", WMO warned.
According to WMO, there is a 66% likelihood that the annual average near-surface global temperature between 2023 and 2027 will be more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for at least one year. There is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years, and the five-year period as a whole, will be the warmest on record.
The report comes amid worsening concerns over climate change. The hottest eight years in history were recorded between 2015 and 2022. Now that temperatures are projected to rise further, the already dire situation in the climate crisis is set to worsen.
The African continent faces heightened vulnerability as it experiences more rapid and pronounced warming compared to other regions worldwide. By 2030, an estimated 118 million individuals living in extreme poverty in Africa will be severely affected by the destructive consequences of drought and intense heat. These circumstances carry significant implications for human health, including increased disease transmission and heat-related stress.
The 2015 Paris climate agreement marked a pivotal milestone as 194 nations united in their commitment to capping global temperature rises within 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The agreement recognized the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions and pursue sustainable energy solutions to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. However, progress has been slow, and many countries are falling short of their commitments.
Petteri Taalas, the WMO Secretary-General said: "This report does not mean that we will permanently exceed the 1.5C specified in the Paris agreement, which refers to long-term warming over many years. However, WMO is sounding the alarm that we will breach the 1.5C level on a temporary basis with increasing frequency." Taalas expressed concern that "a warming El Nino, combined with human-induced climate change, will push global temperatures into uncharted territory".
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"This will have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management, and the environment. We need to be prepared," he said.
WMO added that human-induced greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are causing global temperature increases and leading to ocean heating, acidification, sea ice melt, glacier melt, sea level rise, and more extreme weather.
Scientists have issued a grave warning about the potential ramifications if the earth surpasses the critical climate threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels.
