Earth on brink of surpassing key warming threshold: UN weather agency 

The United Nations weather agency issued a “red alert” Tuesday, warning the Earth is at risk of surpassing the global warming limit following last year’s record-breaking temperatures and other environmental changes.

The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) latest report, released Tuesday, confirmed 2023 was the warmest year on record, sitting at an average of 1.45 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial baseline. 

Under the Paris Agreement in 2015, the world agreed to try to limit future warming to a threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius — 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit — though this is for long-term temperature measures rather than a single month or year. 

WMO’s finding has a margin of uncertainty of about 0.12 degrees Celsius, meaning it is possible the Earth may already have reached the global heating limit. 

“Never have we been so close — albeit on a temporary basis at the moment — to the 1.5-degree Celsius lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said. “The WMO community is sounding the Red Alert to the world.” 

Other records were also broken and, in some instances “smashed,” according to the WMO, which pointed to an increase in greenhouse gases, ocean heat and acidification, sea level rise, a loss of Antarctic Sea ice and glacier retreat. 

Saulo noted climate change is “much more than temperatures,” and these factors are “cause for particular concern.” 

About one third of the global ocean dealt with a marine heatwave on an average day in 2023, worsening crucial ecosystems and food systems, the WMO noted. Reference glaciers had the largest loss of ice on record since 1950 in the wake of extreme melting in both western North American and Europe and Antarctic Sea ice was the lowest on record, preliminary data showed. 

“Sirens are blaring across all major indicators. Some records aren’t just chart-topping, they’re chart-busting,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said.  “And changes are speeding up.”

The WMO also acknowledged that all hope isn’t lost, pointing to recent increases in renewable energy production. 

“Renewable energy generation, primarily driven by the dynamic forces of solar radiation, wind and the water cycle, has surged to the forefront of climate action for its potential to achieve decarbonization targets,” the report stated. 

Their findings follow a series of other similar reports confirming 2023’s record-breaking temperatures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed in January that 2023 was the hottest single year ever recorded — with average land and ocean temperatures reaching 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average last year.

The European Union Copernicus Climate Change Service also confirmed this in January and noted it was “likely” that the 12-month period ending in either January or February will surpass the Paris Agreement heat threshold. 

The report comes days ahead of the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial, in which about 40 climate leaders and ministers will gather in Denmark to discuss climate action.