Record levels of heat worldwide in next five years

A woman shields herself from the sun crossing a street in New York, US. ­­—­ New York Times

GLOBAL temperatures are likely to soar to record highs over the next five years, driven by human-caused warming and a climate pattern known as El Nino, forecasters at the World Meteorological Organisation said.

The previous record for Earth’s hottest year was in 2016. There is a 98% chance that at least one of the next five years will exceed that, the forecasters said, while the average from 2023 to 2027 will almost certainly be the warmest for a five-year period ever recorded.