Weather & Science

Global Temperature Set to Surpass 1.5C Threshold in Hottest Year on Record

The Paris Agreement has committed countries to make best efforts to keep long-term average temperatures below the key figure to reduce the worst impacts of climate change.

A pedestrian carries a newly purchased electric fan in the Attaba district of Cairo, Egypt in June.

Photographer: Islam Safwat/Bloomberg
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This year is “effectively certain” to be the warmest on record with temperatures climbing above a closely watched threshold for the first time.

The average global temperature reached 1.62C above pre-industrial levels in November, according to the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service, surpassing the symbolic 1.5C level, a threshold that's become significant because of its inclusion in the Paris Agreement. Last month was the second-hottest November on record, behind the same period last year, according to the group.