Climate Facts: There’s 98% chance one of next five years will be warmest on record, says WMO

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargon can make it difficult to digest. TheCable’s climate quick facts will help to demystify these climate concepts through easy-to-understand and straight-to-the-point explanations.

Here are some to keep at the tip of your fingers:

• The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says there is a 66 percent likelihood that global temperatures will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in at least one year between 2023 and 2027.
• There is also a 98 percent chance that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record, according to WMO.
• Warming of 1.5 to 2 °C will lead to a reduction of rainforest biomass and increase deforestation and wildfires, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
• The United Nations says continued global warming will further intensify the water cycle, making it more variable, changing monsoon precipitation and the severity of wet and dry events.
• As carbon dioxide emissions rise, the ocean and land will be less effective at absorbing and slowing its accumulation in the atmosphere, says the UN.