A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggests global climate change is advancing at an alarming and "unprecedented" rate.
Last year's extreme weather broke a series of records, including global temperatures, exceptional rainfall, devastating droughts, unusual cyclone activity and intense heat waves. And while 2015 proved to be the warmest year worldwide, 2016 is expected to far exceed those records.
"The year 2015 will stand out in the historical record of the global climate in many ways," said Petteri Taalas, WMO's secretary-general. "The future is happening now. The alarming rate of change we are now witnessing in our climate as a result of greenhouse gas emission is unprecedented in modern records."
In fact, 2016 temperatures are particularly alarming, with climate records already smashed in the first two months of the new year.
"The startlingly high temperatures, so far, in 2016 have sent shock waves around the climate science community," added Dave Carlson, head of the WMO-co-sponsored World Climate Research Program.
The report released by the WMO - a United Nations body - follows NASA data showing that last month was the warmest February since modern records began, with temperatures 1.35 degrees Celsius above average. This spike in temperature was especially felt in the far north, where satellite data revealed record-low sea ice coverage in February.
Furthermore, the WMO report shows that carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere also crossed the threshold of 400 parts per million (ppm) during the first two months of the year. Therefore, experts warn that record-breaking heat trends continuing into 2016 reinforce the need to implement the Paris climate agreement made in December.
"Our planet is sending a powerful message to world leaders to sign and implement the Paris Agreement on climate change and cut greenhouse gases now before we pass the point of no return," Taalas said.
A goal of limiting global warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels was put in place following the Paris climate meetings. However, current warming rates suggest that plans adopted so far may not be enough to avoid a temperature rise of three degrees Celsius.
"Today, the Earth is already one degree Celsius hotter than at the start of the 20th century," Taalas concluded. "We can avert the worst-case scenarios with urgent and far-reaching measures to cut carbon dioxide emissions."
