The World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) recently dropped a bombshell announcement that should have garnered news headlines in the major global and U . S . media but did not . New WMO research concludes that “ there is a 50:50 chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial level for at least one of the next five years .”
WMO Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas explained , “ The 1.5 degree Celsius figure is not some random statistic . It is rather an indicator of the point at which climate impacts will become increasingly harmful for people and indeed the entire planet .”
In 2015 , the likelihood of reaching that threshold within five years was nearly zero . In 2017 it was 10 percent , and today it is 50 percent . As we continue to spew greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in dizzying amounts , that percentage spikes with every passing year and will soon reach 100 percent certainty .
When average global temperatures hit the tipping point of 1.5 degrees Celsius , climate scientists predict that most of the Earth ’ s coral reefs will die off . At 2 degrees Celsius , all will die off . This is the reason why United Nations members coalesced around staving off an average global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius at the last global climate gathering in 2021 . The planet has already heated up by 1.1 degrees Celsius , and the consequences are dire across the globe . India is experiencing its worst heatwave in 122 years , and neighboring Pakistan has broken a 61-year-old record for high temperatures . Dozens of people have already died as a result of the extreme heat .
In France , farmers “ can see the earth cracking every day ,” as a record-breaking drought has thrown the country ’ s agricultural industry into crisis mode .
Here in the United States , across the central and northeastern parts of the country , there is a heatwave so large and so severe that people from Texas to Maine experienced triple-digit temperatures in May .
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