World could see 1.5C of warming in next five years, WMO reports

FILE PHOTO: A view shows an area near the pond remaining of Lake Sawa, due to climate change-induced drought, in Samawa city, Iraq May 1, 2022. Picture taken May 1, 2022. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

LONDON (Reuters) - The world faces a 50% chance of warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, if only briefly, by 2026, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday.

That does not mean the world would be crossing the long-term warming threshold of 1.5C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), which scientists have set as the ceiling for avoiding catastrophic climate change.