Basically A Coin Flip Whether Earth Hits 1.5°C In Next Five Years — WMO

Earth stands a 48/52 chance of heating, if temporarily, 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels within the next five years, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said Monday. Fossil fuel pollution is the main driver of global warming. While the annual temperature average of 1.5°C may recede back below the target threshold, above which scientists say the destructive impacts of climate change will worsen beyond what they are even now, the milestone is significant in no small part because of the stark trend in which it is situated. “We’re going to see continued warming in line with what is expected with climate change,” UK Met Office senior scientist Leon Hermanson, who coordinated the report, told the AP. (AP, The Guardian, Axios, BBC, Reuters, FT $, Forbes)