Our planet is speeding toward a dangerous temperature milestone, and dozens of climate scientists warn we could surpass it before the end of this decade.
What’s happening?
A group of more than 60 leading scientists warns that if the Earth continues its current levels of pollution and carbon pollution, average global temperatures in the next three years will likely surpass 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit over preindustrial levels, the BBC reported.
That threshold is one agreed to by nearly 200 countries as part of the Paris Agreement as a level that the planet’s temperature needs to stay below. If temperatures consistently surpass that number, the United Nations warns, the planet could see severe consequences.
Ideally, the UN says, the planet wouldn’t hit that 2.7-degree threshold before the end of this century. But since the treaty was signed, scientists say not enough has happened to limit carbon pollution.
“Things are all moving in the wrong direction,” University of Leeds climate researcher Piers Forster told the BBC. “We’re seeing some unprecedented changes, and we’re also seeing the heating of the Earth and sea-level rise accelerating as well.”
Why are higher temperatures important?
The planet is warming at a rate of nearly half a degree Fahrenheit each decade — a level, the scientists note, that has never been seen before. The rate of warming is roughly double what it was 50 years ago.
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In fact, each of the 10 warmest years on record occurred within the past decade, with 2024 setting the all-time high mark. And that record is also expected to be broken within the next few years.
As the planet gets warmer, extreme weather events are occurring with more frequency, more severity, or both. One expert has even referred to our warming climate as “steroids for weather.”
Scientists have pointed to the changing climate as a driving force behind events such as this year’s deadly Los Angeles wildfires and last year’s devastating Hurricane Helene.
What’s being done about rising temperatures?
Although scientists are concerned about how fast we’re speeding toward that 2.7-degree threshold, all hope is not lost.
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As more countries adopt green technologies and clean energy sources like solar and wind, the rate of harmful carbon pollution can slow down. And while some drastic carbon cuts will be needed to keep the planet from reaching that threshold, every bit of slowing helps.
“Reductions in emissions over the next decade can critically change the rate of warming,” Imperial College London climate science professor Joeri Rogelj told the BBC. “Every fraction of warming that we can avoid will result in less harm and less suffering of particularly poor and vulnerable populations and less challenges for our societies to live the lives that we desire.”
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