Record-high global temperatures likely to continue for next 5 years, scientists say
A report by the World Meteorological Organization says that climate predictions show that the world’s temperatures are expected to remain at or near record levels during the next five years.
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ZURICH – Temperatures for the globe are expected to remain at or near record levels during the next five years, scientists said Wednesday.
The report issued by the World Meteorological Organization looked at climate predictions for the world.
Last year was Earth’s warmest year on record. According to the report, there’s an 80% chance that at least one of the next five years, between 2025 and 2029, will break 2024’s record.
"We have just experienced the ten warmest years on record," WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said in a statement about the report. "Unfortunately, this WMO report provides no sign of respite over the coming years, and this means that there will be a growing negative impact on our economies, our daily lives, our ecosystems and our planet."
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Silhouette of a man drinking water during a hot day.
(Adobe Stock)
The Arctic is predicted to warm faster than any other region on the planet – more than 3.5 times the global average. That warmth will also lead to a reduction in sea ice in the Barents Sea, the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, according to scientists.
The report noted that the warming will bring wetter-than-average weather to Alaska, northern Europe, northern Siberia and South Asia, while drier-than-average conditions will dominate the Amazon.
Scientists said in the report that there is an 86% chance that one of the next five years will be more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) – a critical climate-change threshold – above pre-industrial levels. However, long-term warming, which is averaged over decades, remains below the benchmark for now.