Earth 'pushed beyond its limits'

Green news

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THE world’s climate is more out of balance than at any time in observed history as rising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere drive global warming and melt ice, UN scientists have warned.

Intense heatwaves, heavy rainfall, wildfires, drought, tropical cyclones, storms and flooding caused widespread deaths, disruption and devastation in 2025, affecting millions of people and driving vast economic losses, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said.

The UN's weather and climate body released its annual “state of the global climate” report on Monday, with yet another warning that Earth has seen rapid and large-scale changes in recent decades.

These will now have harmful repercussions for centuries, the scientists warned.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the global climate is in a “state of emergency”.

“Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits,” he said. “Every key climate indicator is flashing red.”

In the report, the WMO confirmed 2015 to 2025 as the hottest 11 years on record, and last year as the second or third hottest year on record - depending on the dataset.