UN weather body sees rising chance of exceeding global-warming cap

A man jumps into the water in a hot afternoon at the Carcavelos beach in Cascais, Portugal, July 16, 2020. (Photo by Pedro Fiuza/Xinhua)

During the next five years, the annual mean global temperature might be at least 1 degree Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels and could be 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer, the WMO predicted.

GENEVA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- There is a 40 percent chance that the annual average global temperature temporarily reaches 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level in at least one of the next five years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a press release on Thursday.

According to the UN weather body's annual update, the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is unlikely to be met, as 2020 saw global temperature spiraling up by 1.2 degrees Celsius compared to the 19th Century.

"This study shows -- with a high level of scientific skill -- that we are getting measurably and inexorably closer to the lower target (2 degrees Celsius) of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

People walk in the rain in Sydney, Australia, March 20, 2021. Australia's most populous state of New South Wales has been experiencing extreme weather condition as record rainfall is triggering burst riverbanks, dam spillover, road blocks and evacuations. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)

During the next five years, the annual mean global temperature might be at least 1 degree Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels and could be 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer, the WMO predicted.

It is still very unlikely that the annual temperature of the next five years will be 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, but the possibility has now roughly doubled, the organization said.

Global warming might have dire consequences such as higher risks of tropical cyclones, rising sea levels, extreme weather and worsening impacts on socio-economic development, the WMO warned.

"These are more than just statistics," said Taalas, highlighting grim outlooks in case of failure to contain temperature rise such as "greater impacts on food security, health, the environment and sustainable development."

Photo taken on May 26, 2021 shows trees battered by cyclonic storm Yaas in the seaside resort of Digha, near Kolkata, capital of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, India. (Str/Xinhua)