On the eve of a climate summit attended by some 60 world leaders in New York, a report provides the most current state of play on the Earth’s climate.
The five years 2015 to 2019 should be the hottest temperatures ever recorded, after a hot summer 2019, reported Sunday the UN, on the eve of a climate summit in the presence of sixty world leaders in New York.
The average temperature for the 2015-2019 period is expected to be 1.1 ° C higher than the 1850-1900 period, says the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report. more current on the climate of the Earth.
The latest data confirm the trend of the previous four years, which were already the hottest ever recorded, that is to say since 1850. It was also known that July 2019, marked by several heat waves especially in Europe, had broken the absolute record temperature.
Coal, oil and gas continued to grow in 2018. Greenhouse gas emissions have further increased, and by 2019, they will be “at least as high” as in 2018, say scientists who have worked on this report. for the UN.
The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is expected to reach a new peak at the end of 2019, according to preliminary data, ie 410 parts per million.
The scenario of the worst
In the current state of countries’ commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the planet will be warmer by 2.9 to 3.4 ° C by 2100.
It shows that the countries’ anti-carbon efforts must be multiplied by five to contain warming at + 1.5 ° C, as stipulated in the Paris Agreement of 2015. Or at least three to stick to + 2 ° C, the maximum limit stipulated by the text.
In fact, the real warming could be even greater, according to more recent climate models, such as that of a French team that predicts + 7 ° C in a worst-case scenario.
“The gap has never been greater between what the world wants to achieve and the reality of countries’ climate plans”
It is this gap that the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, wants to start filling by welcoming some sixty leaders on Monday, on the eve of the UN General Assembly, three days after the monster demonstrations of young people. in the world.
Many leaders should promise to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, he said.
The list of bad news on the state of the planet is long and thoroughly detailed by the WMO report.
Thus, the rise of the level of the oceans accelerates. In the last decade, the rate has increased to 4 millimetres per year, instead of three per year, due to the accelerated melting of the ice caps at the North and South poles, confirmed by multiple studies and satellite observations.
