Global Temperatures Set To Break Records During Next 5 Years—WMO
Global temperatures are likely to surge to record levels in the next five years, fueled by heat-trapping greenhouse gases and a naturally occurring El Niño weather pattern, according to a new update issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Wednesday. There is a 66 per cent 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. And there is a 98 per cent likelihood that at least one of the next five years, and the five-year period, will be the warmest on record. “This will have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management and the environment. We need to be prepared,” said Petteri Taalas, the Secretary-General of WMO. “A warming El Niño is expected to develop in the coming months and this will combine with human-induced climate change to push global temperatures into uncharted territory,” he said.
By UN News. May 17, 2023.
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The Likelihood That Earth Briefly Hits Key Warming Threshold Grows Bigger And Closer, UN Forecasts
There’s a two-out-of-three chance that the world will temporarily hit a key warming limit within the next five years, the United Nations weather agency said Wednesday. But it likely would only be a fleeting and less worrisome flirtation with the internationally agreed upon temperature threshold. Scientists expect a temporary burst of heat from El Nino — a naturally-occurring weather phenomenon — to supercharge human-caused warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas to new heights. Temperatures are expected to then slip back down a bit.
“I think it’s important to realize that if we pass 1.5 degrees it’s not a reason to give up,” Leon Hermanson, a climate scientist at the United Kingdom’s Met Office, said at a Wednesday news conference. “We have to continue working out how much we can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases as much as possible, even after that, because it will make a difference.”
By Seth Borenstein. AP / YahooNews. May 17, 2023.
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