More than 145 world leaders are set to gather in the French capital Monday to launch the 12-day conference aimed at securing a rescue pact for the global climate aimed at capping global warming at two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial era. El Nino, a naturally occuring weather pattern marked by warming sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, causes extremes such as scorching weather, droughts and flooding around the world. “The year whose annual mean temperature is likely to be most strongly influenced by the current El Nino is 2016 rather than 2015”, the WMO said. “It is probable that the 1 degree Celsius threshold will be crossed”.
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According to preliminary figures as of the end of September 2015, 2011-15 was the world’s warmest five-year period on record, at about 0.57°C (1.01°F) above the average for the standard 1961-90 reference period. “We have the knowledge and the tools to act”. Typically, new records are only set by a few hundredths of a degree.
These trends are the result of long-term warming trends, WMO explained, which are mainly caused by the emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases into the earth’s atmosphere.
This follows the recent announcement from the Met Office that temperature in the HadCrut4 dataset – one of three global datasets the WMO uses – is expected to pass the 1C mark in 2015. “We have a choice”, said Jarraud.
“Glacial melting on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau should be a climate change alarm bell for global heads of state, warning them to reach a strong agreement at the Paris climate summit, and to push for a global change to clean energy”.
China experienced its warmest ever year on record in 2015 in the period to October, while the continent of Africa is now undergoing its second warmest. “This is a great concern and it underlines the urgency of reaching a decision in Paris”, said Jarraud. “Future generations will not”, warned Jarraud.
Jarraud also rejected the arguments of climate cynics that the science underlying predictions of man-made climate change was wrong.
Global Warming isn’t so much an opinion when it comes to the World Meteorological Organization.
The hotter we let it get, the more extreme everyone’s weather will become. The period of 2011-2015 had been the hottest five year period since the beginning of the measurements.
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The WMO published the report in order to inform negotiations at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris, running from November 30-Dec. 11.
