GENEVA: There is an 80 percent likelihood that annual average global temperature will temporarily exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for at least one of the next five years, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
This is a stark warning that we are getting ever closer to the goals set in the Paris Agreement on climate change, which refers to long-term temperature increases over decades, not over one to five years.
The global mean near-surface temperature for each year between 2024 and 2028 is predicted to be between 1.1 degrees Celsius and 1.9 degrees Celsius higher than the 1850-1900 baseline, according to the WMO report.
It says that it is likely, or about 86 percent, at least one of these years will set a new temperature record, beating 2023, which is currently the warmest year.
There is a 47 percent likelihood that the global temperature average over the entire five-year 2024-2028 period will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial e
ra, says the WMO Global Annual to Decadal Update – up from 32 percent from last year’s report for the 2023-2027 period.
The report was released to coincide with a major speech by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres calling for much more ambitious climate action ahead of the G-7 summit in Italy 13-15 June.
Source: Philippines News Agency