UN agency predicts that 1.5-degree Celsius target limit likely to be surpassed by 2028

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. weather agency is predicting an 80% chance that average global temperatures will surpass the 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) target laid out in the landmark Paris climate accord within the next five years. The World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday that the global mean near-surface temperature for each year from 2024 to 2028 is expected to range between 1.1 and 1.9 degrees Celsius hotter than at the start of the industrial era. The report was cited in a sweeping speech about the threat of climate change by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to mark World Environment Day.