Warning over 1.5C climate goal

THIS year is on track to be the second or third warmest globally as an “unprecedented streak” of high temperatures continues, UN scientists have warned.

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(SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES)

Global average surface temperatures in January to August 2025 were 1.42C above pre-industrial levels, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said, a slight drop from the record highs of 1.55C in 2024.

As leaders gather in Belem, Brazil, for the latest round of UN climate talks, the WMO said it was “virtually impossible” to curb global warming to the agreed limit of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels in the next few years without temporarily overshooting the target.

But it is “still entirely possible and essential” to bring temperatures down to the 1.5C goal by the end of the century, WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo said.

The latest UN talks come in the wake of a year in which people around the world have been battered by climate and weather extremes from damaging rainfall and floods to severe heat and wildfire - but as politicians in a number of countries seek to row back on action to combat the worsening situation.