Met Office warns of global temperature rise exceeding 1.5C limit

In next five years greenhouse gases may push global warming past threshold set by Paris deal

Global temperatures could break through the internationally agreed upper 1.5C limit within the next five years, according to a forecast by British scientists that raises fresh questions about the world's efforts to tackle climate change.

The Met Office forecasting service said that in the period from 2018 to 2022, annual global average temperatures are likely to exceed 1C above pre-industrial levels and could top the 1.5C threshold set as an aspiration by the global Paris climate change deal in 2015.