Climate experts believe that the goal of limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius in the long term has become elusive, as countries around the world have failed to set more ambitious targets despite record high temperatures on land and sea over several months. The European Union-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that as envoys gathered in Bonn in early June to prepare for the annual climate talks scheduled for November, the average air temperature at the Earth's surface rose above 1.5 degrees Celsius for several days compared to pre-industrial levels.
Although average temperatures have exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold before, this marks the first time it has risen in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer starting on June 1. Sea temperatures also exceeded the record highs recorded in April and May. Australian climate scientist Sarah Perkins Kirkpatrick said, "We have run out of time because change takes time."
As climate envoys from the two largest greenhouse gas-emitting countries prepare for next month's meeting, temperatures have surpassed record highs in Beijing, China, while extreme heat waves have swept across the United States. Temperatures in parts of North America exceeded the seasonal average for this month by ten degrees Celsius. Smoke from wildfires covered Canada and the eastern United States with hazardous fog. Carbon emission estimates hit a record level of 160 million metric tons.
India, one of the regions most affected by climate change, reported an increase in the number of heat-related deaths, while Spain, Iran, and Vietnam also experienced severe temperature rises, raising concerns that last year’s summer, which resulted in fatalities, may become the norm.
In 2015, world nations agreed in Paris to try to keep the long-term average temperature increase within 1.5 degrees Celsius, but the World Meteorological Organization now predicts a 66 percent chance that the annual average will exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold for at least one full year between now and 2027.
