There is now a 40% chance that global temperatures will temporarily reach 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels in the next five years — and these odds are rising, a U.N. report said on Wednesday. But it does underscore that "we are getting measurably and inexorably closer" to that threshold, said U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas in a statement. In 2020 – one of the three warmest years on record – the global average temperature was 1.2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline, according to an April WMO report. The WMO uses temperature data from multiple sources including NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Earlier this month, for example, NOAA released its updated "climate normals," which provide baseline data on temperature and other climate measures across the United States.

Source: The Hindu May 27, 2021 06:56 UTC