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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Jonathan Watts

Global temperatures could break heat record in next five years

A drought-affected reservoir on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen.
Rising temperatures will increase the risk of extreme droughts like the one currently affecting Yemen. Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA

There is an 80% chance that global temperatures will break at least one annual heat record in the next five years, raising the risk of extreme droughts, floods and forest fires, a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has shown.

For the first time, the data also indicated a small likelihood that before 2030, the world could experience a year that is 2C hotter than the preindustrial era, a possibility scientists described as “shocking”.

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