1.5 degrees

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Earth stays above 1.5°C warming for a year

Earth stays above 1.5°C warming for a year

Earth's average temperature remained 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for a full year, signaling ongoing and severe climate shifts.

Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News.

In short:

  • Earth's average temperature stayed above 1.5°C for 12 consecutive months, the first such occurrence in recorded history.
  • Scientists stress that this 12-month period does not mean the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C limit has been breached, as that target is based on longer-term averages.
  • Climate experts warn that, without significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, more temperature records will be broken, and long-term warming trends will continue.

Key quote:

"This is more than a statistical oddity and it highlights a large and continuing shift in our climate."

— Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Why this matters:

This sustained warmth has far-reaching consequences. Extreme weather events such as hurricanes, heatwaves and wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense, wreaking havoc on communities and ecosystems. Rising temperatures also accelerate the melting of polar ice, contributing to sea-level rise that threatens coastal cities and island nations.

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Newsletter
Heatwave blankets the globe, raising climate concerns

Heatwave blankets the globe, raising climate concerns

The Earth has experienced a continuous 12-month period of temperatures 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, according to new data.

Ajit Niranjan reports for The Guardian.

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Mind the gaps: how the UN climate plan fails to follow the science
Photo by Danting Zhu on Unsplash

Mind the gaps: how the UN climate plan fails to follow the science

The U.N. climate conference in Dubai agreed on a plan to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees C and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. But researchers are warning that these pledges are not grounded in sound science and will fail to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
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Global heating will pass 1.5C threshold this year, top ex-Nasa scientist says

James Hansen says limit will be passed ‘for all practical purposes’ by May though other experts predict that will happen in 2030s.

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What's next in the carbon and climate conversation

With 1.5 degrees as our North Star, what tangible actions are needed to achieve that goal, what’s standing in our way, and how do we get everyone - especially the ones that have not taken action - on board.

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Photo by Wes Warren on Unsplash

UN: World set to blow through 1.5C carbon budget in 10 years

Under current climate plans, the world will pump out enough greenhouse gas in the next ten years to take global warming above 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, a United Nations report shows.

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'Doomerism': Why scientists disagree with Biden on 1.5 C

Joe Biden's comments are raising concern among scientists who say the president risks adding to public confusion about the dangers of surpassing the 1.5 C threshold, an event that is expected to occur in about a decade.

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