The United Nations’ weather and climate agency has called for urgent action to combat climate change, highlighting a report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) predicting an 80% chance that global temperatures will surpass the critical 1.5-degree Celsius threshold in at least one of the next five years. This likelihood has grown since 2015. The report indicates that global temperatures between 2024 and 2028 could be 1.1 to 1.9 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with an 86% chance that a new temperature record will be set by 2028.
The period from June 2023 to May 2024 was the warmest on record, with the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirming May 2024 as the warmest May globally. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett emphasized the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid severe economic and environmental consequences.
Current global warming levels have already led to extreme weather events, such as heat waves, heavy rainfall, droughts, and rising sea levels. Recent examples include severe flooding in Germany, which caused fatalities and damage, and extreme heat in Cyprus, which disrupted outdoor activities and prompted weather warnings. These events underscore the ongoing and escalating impact of climate change.
Source – CGTN