Dubai, December 1 (RHC)-- The World Meteorological Organization reports 2023 is “virtually certain” to become the hottest year on record, warning of worsening wildfires, floods, ice melt, heat waves and other extreme weather events. 

Since the start of the year, the average global surface temperature is up about 1.4 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, or about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit.  That’s just a tenth of a degree below the target limit of 1.5 degrees set by the Paris climate accord in 2015. 

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the findings Thursday as the U.N.’s COP28 climate summit got underway in Dubai.   António Guterres said: “We are living through climate collapse in real time, and the impact is devastating. … We have the roadmap to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid the worst of climate chaos.  But we need leaders to fire the starting gun at COP28 on a race to keep the 1.5-degree limit alive.”