Earth given 50-50 chance of hitting key warming mark by 2026

Earth given 50-50 chance of hitting key warming mark by 2026

Activists display placards during a rally to mark Earth Day at Lafayette Square, Washington, Saturday, April 23, 2022. The day after Earth Day, the League of Conservation Voters, SEIU, NAACP, Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, Center for Popular Democracy, MoveOn, The Center for American Progress, and Green New Deal Network join more than 20 partner organizations in a nationwide mobilization, just as President Joe Biden and Congress are on the verge of taking climate action at the scale the crisis demands. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

(AP)-A new report says there’s nearly a 50-50 chance that world will hit a key warming threshold in the next five years. Monday’s World Meteorological Organization forecast says there’s a 48% chance that globe will temporarily hit 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times by the end of 2026. The 2015 Paris climate agreement set a goal of not exceeding that temperature level on a long-term average and climate scientists have detailed a host of dangers that worsen after that level of warming. The forecast also gives a 93% chance that sometime in the next five years, Earth will set a new record for the hottest year. 

Photo: Activists display placards during a rally to mark Earth Day at Lafayette Square, Washington, Saturday, April 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)