Climate Change Tracker

World will break dangerous heat barrier by 2025

New UN report predicts that one of the next five years will be 1.5 degree Celsius hotter than pre-industrial times

Bibek Bhattacharya
Published28 May 2021, 08:00 AM IST
As the world becomes hotter, extreme weather events like cyclone Yaas will increase.
As the world becomes hotter, extreme weather events like cyclone Yaas will increase.(AFP)

A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released on 27 May predicts that the world is poised to break a crucial heat barrier by 2025. The WMO Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update, a report produced by United Kingdom’s Met Office, states that there’s a 40% chance that at least one of the next five years is going to be 1.5 degree Celsius hotter than pre-industrial times (1850-1900). What this means is that it’s getting harder to achieve the best case scenario of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement: to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius by 2100.

The WMO report, which focuses on 2021 as well as the years 2021-2025, also predicts that there’s a 90% chance that at least one of the next five years will be the hottest on record. Currently, the hottest year on record is 2016, and 2020 and 2019 are the joint second hottest years on record. As it is, the current average global temperature is 1.2 degree Celsius hotter than pre-industrial times, as confirmed by a WMO report in April. The new report says that the next five years will see average global temperatures to be between .9 to 1.8 degree Celsius hotter than pre-industrial times. An earlier independent study published in December last year had predicted that the world could reach the 1.5 degree Celsius mark by 2027. The WMO report now confirms that we’ll reach there much earlier.

Also Read: 10 things we learnt about climate change in 2020

The WMO report marks an important and scary moment in the global effort to fight climate change. The concentration of planet-heating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have seen an overall growth in recent years, where the amount of fresh emissions should actually be decreasing. Keeping pace with this, the last five years have been the hottest ever recorded. Countries are supposed to come out with better national climate goals by the time of a crucial climate conference in Glasgow in November, but little is actually happening on that front. On top of that, countries are relying on fossil fuels like coal and oil to power their way out of the economic devastation caused by the covid-19 pandemic. Any hopes of a global green recovery have been dashed.

Also Read: 50 biggest economies give green covid recovery a miss

There was a silver lining to global pandemic lockdowns last year, when global CO2 emissions fell by 7% from 2019 levels. A study published in March stated that global emissions cuts need to be ten times higher than they are right now to stop climate change. It also found that to meet Paris Agreement goals, the world needs the equivalent of a global lockdown once every two years. The key takeaway is this: the planet is heating up faster than ever, and the window for meaningful global action is getting smaller.

Also Read: Global emissions cuts need to be ten times higher to stop climate change

Speaking on the latest report, the WMO Secretary General Patteri Taalas says that a warmer world means more melting ice, higher sea levels, more heatwaves and other extreme weather. “This study shows – with a high level of scientific skill – that we are getting measurably and inexorably closer to the lower target of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It is yet another wakeup call that the world needs to fast-track commitments to slash greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality,” he says.

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

MoreLess
First Published:28 May 2021, 08:00 AM IST
Business NewsLoungeBusiness Of LifeWorld will break dangerous heat barrier by 2025

Get Instant Loan up to ₹10 Lakh!

  • Employment Type

    Most Active Stocks

    Indian Oil Corporation share price

    138.90
    03:59 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -6.1 (-4.21%)

    Tata Steel share price

    146.95
    03:56 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -2.75 (-1.84%)

    Reliance Industries share price

    1,302.00
    03:59 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -37.1 (-2.77%)

    Tata Motors share price

    824.10
    03:59 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -19.5 (-2.31%)
    More Active Stocks

    Market Snapshot

    • Top Gainers
    • Top Losers
    • 52 Week High

    City Union Bank share price

    178.10
    03:29 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    0.25 (0.14%)

    Federal Bank share price

    204.15
    03:59 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -0.1 (-0.05%)

    Jubilant Pharmova share price

    1,252.35
    03:40 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -11.65 (-0.92%)

    UTI Asset Management Company share price

    1,326.85
    03:29 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -33.4 (-2.46%)
    More from 52 Week High

    Poly Medicure share price

    2,876.70
    03:43 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -286 (-9.04%)

    Vodafone Idea share price

    7.89
    03:59 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -0.56 (-6.63%)

    Chennai Petroleum Corporation share price

    614.70
    03:45 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -40.85 (-6.23%)

    Angel Broking share price

    2,886.35
    03:59 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    -184.55 (-6.01%)
    More from Top Losers

    Fine Organic Industries share price

    5,123.00
    03:29 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    280.9 (5.8%)

    Firstsource Solutions share price

    358.85
    03:50 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    18.55 (5.45%)

    Rainbow Childrens Medicare share price

    1,630.70
    03:59 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    81.1 (5.23%)

    Gillette India share price

    10,323.35
    03:29 PM | 4 NOV 2024
    361.55 (3.63%)
    More from Top Gainers

    Recommended For You

      More Recommendations

      Gold Prices

      • 24K
      • 22K
      Bangalore
      80,415.000.00
      Chennai
      80,421.000.00
      Delhi
      80,573.000.00
      Kolkata
      80,425.000.00

      Fuel Price

      • Petrol
      • Diesel
      Bangalore
      102.92/L0.00
      Chennai
      101.03/L0.23
      Kolkata
      104.95/L0.00
      New Delhi
      94.77/L0.00

      Popular in Lounge

        HomeMarketsPremiumInstant LoanMint Shorts