Next five years expected to be hottest on record: UN

Tags: International News

The United Nations' World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned that the next five years will be the warmest period on record due to the combined effects of El Niño and greenhouse gases.

An Overview of the News

• The WMO predicts that global temperatures are likely to exceed a 1.5°C increase by 2027, with a 98 percent chance of setting new heat records in at least one of the next five years.

• There is a two-thirds chance that the more ambitious target set by the Paris climate agreement will be exceeded within one of the next five years, indicating that global temperatures are set to rise further.

• The years between 2015 and 2022 are among the warmest ever recorded, and temperatures are expected to rise as climate change accelerates.

• The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, the global average temperature in 2022 was already 1.15°C higher than the average measured between 1850 and 1900.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

• It is a specialised agency of the United Nations and the organisation facilitates cooperation among member states.

• It promotes international cooperation in atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics.

• It supports research and development in atmospheric science, which includes the study of Earth's atmosphere and its properties.

• WMO focuses on understanding long-term weather patterns and climate variability.

Formation - 23 March 1950

Headquarters - Geneva, Switzerland

WMO Secretary General - Peteri Talas