UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : WMO - Press Conference: Global climate predictions for next five years

World 'too hot to handle' as new temperature records beckon, UN weather watchdog warns

At least one of the years between now and 2028 will very likely set a new temperature record - breaking through the crucial 1.5°C temperature limit – whose dangers are already being felt - the UN weather agency, WMO, said on Wednesday.

Speaking in Geneva, Ms. Barrett noted that there is a “nearly nine in 10 likelihood that at least one year between 2024 and 2028 will be the hottest on record”. When this happens, it will be “the hottest on record, even hotter than 2023, which smashed all temperature records”.
She underscored, however, that temporary breaches do not mean that the 1.5 °C goal set in the Paris Agreement is permanently lost because it refers to long-term warming over decades.

The global average near-surface temperature for each year between 2024 and 2028 is predicted to be between 1.1°C and 1.9°C higher than the 1850-1900 baseline.

There is a 47 per cent likelihood that the global temperature averaged out over the five-year 2024-2028 period will exceed 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era, according to the WMO Global Annual to Decadal Update; this is up from the 32 per cent likelihood featured in last year’s report for the 2023-2027 period.

Beyond the scientific data, the WMO senior official highlighted the impact on human health and survival first and foremost, echoing repeated calls by the UN Secretary-General for climate action:

“As our planet enters this new record-breaking era, we can expect to see more oppressive heat waves affecting the health of billions of people; more increases in marine heatwaves jeopardizing livelihoods and natural ecosystems along our coasts. More sea level rise threatening coastal populations everywhere, more intense rainfall events, pushing our infrastructure beyond its limits. The future scenarios many of us have feared are here now.”

Under the Paris Agreement, countries agreed to keep long-term global average surface temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C by the end of this century. The scientific community has repeatedly warned that warming of more than 1.5°C risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts and extreme weather and every fraction of a degree of warming matters.

“Beyond the predictions and statistics, is the stark reality that we risk trillions of dollars in economic losses, millions of lives upended and destruction of fragile and precious ecosystems and the biodiversity that exists there,” Ms. Barrett said. “What is clear is that the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees C(elsius) is hanging on a thread.”

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WMO - Press Conference: Global climate predictions for next five years - 05 June 2024

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