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United Nations Says World May Hit 1.5 Degrees Warming Threshold Within 5 Years

The World Meteorological Organization says the world may hit 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels sooner than expected.
Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

In 2015, world leaders meeting in Paris to discuss climate change agreed to try to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

On Thursday, a report from the World Meteorological Organization, a United Nations agency, showed that the planet could exceed that watermark in the next five years.

"This study shows – with a high level of scientific skill – the enormous challenge ahead in meeting the Paris Agreement on Climate Change target," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas in

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