Scientists deliver ‘final warning’ on climate crisis: act now or it’s too late

1.5C above pre-industrial levels is the threshold beyond which our damage to the climate will rapidly become irreversible. Photograph: Janez Volmajer/Alamy

Scientists have delivered a “final warning” on the climate crisis, as rising greenhouse gas emissions push the world to the brink of irrevocable damage that only swift and drastic action can avert.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), made up of the world’s leading climate scientists, set out the final part of its mammoth sixth assessment report on Monday.