Global temperatures will continue to warm over the next five years, and may even temporarily rise to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Thursday.
That does not mean the world would be crossing the long-term warming threshold of 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), which scientists have set as the ceiling for avoiding catastrophic climate change.
But it does show the warming trend continuing apace, underlining the "enormous challenge" the world faces in meeting the 2015 Paris Agreement's goal of curbing climate-warming emissions enough to keep the rise in temperatures "well below” 2 Celsius, said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.