A new report predicts no signs of respite in global warming over the next five years. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) forecasts that global temperatures will reach record or near-record levels between now and 2029.
The report found a 70% chance that average temperatures will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This trend brings the world a step closer to breaching the Paris climate agreement.
“We have just experienced the ten warmest years on record. Unfortunately, this WMO report provides no sign of respite over the coming years, and this means that there will be a growing negative impact on our economies, our daily lives, our ecosystems, and our planet,” said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett.
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The Paris climate agreement aims to keep global temperatures from increasing above 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. The WMO's report indicates that 2024 is likely to be the first year that average global temperatures exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Scientists also say it is the warmest year in the 175-year observational record.
Scientists have attributed the rise in carbon dioxide levels, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and gas, to the increasing warmth.
The WMO states that a warming planet will cause "more harmful heatwaves, extreme rainfall events, intense droughts, melting of ice sheets, sea ice, and glaciers, heating of the ocean, and rising sea levels."
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