World is on brink of catastrophic warming, U.N. climate change report says

A dangerous climate threshold is near, but ‘it does not mean we are doomed’ if swift action is taken, scientists say

Excerpt from The Washington Post:

The world is likely to pass a dangerous temperature threshold within the next 10 years, pushing the planet past the point of catastrophic warming — unless nations drastically transform their economies and immediately transition away from fossil fuels, according to one of the most definitive reports ever published about climate change.

The report released Monday by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that the world is likely to surpass its most ambitious climate target — limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial temperatures — by the early 2030s.

Beyond that threshold, scientists have found, climate disasters will become so extreme that people will not be able to adapt. Basic components of the Earth system will be fundamentally, irrevocably altered. Heat waves, famines and infectious diseases could claim millions of additional lives by century’s end.

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+ NBC News: Now or never: One of the biggest climate reports ever shows time is running out – The U.N.’s IPCC report is the culmination of more than six years of work by thousands of climate scientists.

+ The New York Times: Americans use Fahrenheit, but many climate reports exclusively use Celsius.