UN Weather Agency Predicts New Global Temperature Record Amid Climate Concerns

The United Nations weather agency has warned that achieving the climate goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is becoming increasingly unlikely. A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) indicates that a record-breaking global temperature could soon be on the horizon.

Currently, the year 2024 holds the record for the highest average global temperature recorded. However, projections suggest that this record may soon be surpassed within the next five years, with an 80% likelihood that it will be broken at least once during the period from 2025 to 2029.

The report, crafted in collaboration with the UK's Met Office and 15 other climate modeling institutions, predicts that the five-year average temperature is likely to exceed the critical 1.5-degree threshold. This target, established during the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, is increasingly viewed as unattainable, with the WMO estimating that the limit may have already been breached in 2024.

Although the threshold will only be officially considered violated if it is surpassed consistently over decades, the implications of a sustained rise in temperature are dire. Even a fractional increase in global temperatures contributes to extreme weather events, including heatwaves, intense rainfall, prolonged droughts, ice melt, warmer oceans, and rising sea levels.

WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett highlighted the report's lack of indications for a cooling trend in the coming years, emphasizing the escalating negative impacts on economies, daily life, ecosystems, and the planet as a whole.

The WMO also forecasts above-average seasonal rainfall in various regions, including Northern Europe and South Asia, while the Amazon region is expected to experience drier conditions. The Arctic is projected to warm at more than three times the rate of the global average during winter months.

To keep global warming below the 1.5-degree mark, there is an urgent need for a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions--specifically, a decrease of at least 43% by 2030. Additionally, substantial amounts of greenhouse gases must be removed from the atmosphere.