GENEVA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- There is an 80 percent chance that annual average global temperatures will surpass the warming mark of 1.5 degree Celsius in at least one of the next five years, the UN weather and climate agency warned on Wednesday.
The likelihood has increased steadily since 2015 when it was nearly zero, according to the Global Annual to Decadal Update from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The latest prediction is another stark warning that the world is moving ever-closer to the lower warming target set in the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, said the Geneva-based climate agency.
The global mean near-surface temperature for each year between 2024 and 2028 is predicted to be between 1.1 and 1.9 degrees Celsius higher than the 1850-1900 baseline, according to the report.
It is 86 percent likely that at least one year by 2028 will set a new temperature record, smashing the records set in 2023, the report added. ■
