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Millions of people around the world are being warned to brace themselves as a damning new report claims the warmest year on record will occur in 2027.
Experts emphasized with 98 percent certainty that a global temperature spike will occur in the next five years.
The gloomy news comes amid growing climate change fears and follows a summer of hell in Europe, which saw its second warmest year in 2022.
Future extremes also have a two in three chance at 2.7°F (1.5 °C) above pre-industrial levels – breaking promises of the climate-focused Paris Agreement.
“Today’s report shows that the next five years are expected to bring new temperature records,” said Dr Leon Hermanson, a Met Office scientist behind the report.
Some parts of the world are likely to experience an increase in rainfall over the next five years, while others will experience a fall in rainfall. Pictured: Wimbledon Common last summer
“These new highs will be fueled almost entirely by the rise of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but the projected development of the naturally occurring El Niño event will also release heat from the tropical Pacific.”
El Niño is a recurring warming phase that occurs in the tropical Pacific after a cooling phase of La Niña.
These periods shift back and forth irregularly every two to seven years, leading to rainfall and temperature changes.
The ocean’s La Niña phase ended in March this year, and El Niño is expected to hit in the coming months.
This natural phenomenon in combination with the emission of gases such as carbon dioxide is likely to exacerbate the temperature spikes from next year.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) expects rain showers to occur in the Sahel region of Africa, Northern Europe, Alaska and Siberia as a result.
Precipitation is also likely to fall in the Amazon and parts of Australia over the same period from 2023 to 2027.
Meanwhile, Arctic warming is predicted to be more than three times the global average amid fears of worsening ice sheet melting.
Over the five years, temperatures between 1.98°F (1.1°C) and 3.24°F (1.8°C) are predicted to be higher than the 1850-1900 average – a slippery slope in towards breaking the Paris Agreement.
This legally binding climate change treaty came into effect in 2016 and aims to limit temperature rise to 2.7°F (1.5°C) above pre-industrial levels.
A total of 196 countries have signed it, including the US, which initially refused because of Donald Trump’s disapproval.
Still, the WMO believes that even if Paris levels are exceeded, this need not be a permanent change.
Arctic warming is expected to be more than three times the global average between 2023 and 2027. Pictured: Helheim Glacier near Tasilaq, Greenland
Experts say there is a two in three chance of exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, which would break the promises of the 2015 Paris Agreement (Image: Paris, France 2022)
Future temperature extremes follow the warmest summer on record in Europe. Pictured: Forest fires in Tabara, Spain during last year’s extreme heat wave
Professor Petteri Taalas, Secretary General, said: ‘This report does not mean that we will permanently exceed the 1.5°C specified in the Paris Agreement, which refers to sustained warming over many years.
‘However, the WMO is sounding the alarm that we will temporarily and increasingly exceed the 1.5°C limit.’
The dismal report follows other research showing that Europe will have experienced its hottest summer on record in 2022.
Extreme heat waves and drought gripped the continent during this time and are only expected to get worse.
Summer wildfires also generated the highest carbon emissions in 15 years, leading to a record melting of alpine glaciers as five cubic miles of ice disappeared.
C3S director Carlo Buontempo warned that these numbers were “alarming” but crucial to understanding how to better deal with the impacts of climate change.
He said: ‘The report highlights alarming changes in our climate, including the hottest summer on record in Europe, marked by unprecedented marine heat waves in the Mediterranean and record-breaking temperatures in Greenland.
“Understanding climate dynamics in Europe is crucial to our efforts to adapt and mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on the continent.”