New Delhi: Despite the La Nina conditions, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) reported on Friday that the global mean temperature in 2022 was 1.15 degrees Celsius over the pre-industrial (1850-1900) average. This places 2022 in the "fifth or sixth" warmest year on record.
A report titled "State of the Global Climate 2022" found that the eight years beginning in 2015 were the warmest on record, and that concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases -- carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide -- reached record highs in 2021, the most recent year for which consolidated global values are available (1984-2021).
The worst effects of climate change can be avoided if we can keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (relative to pre-industrial levels).—Inputs from Agencies