2017 set to be in top 3 hottest years on record

November 6, 2017

Average global temperatures for the first nine months of 2017 were 1.1C above pre-industrial levels, not as warm as the same period in 2016, when the El Niño effect increased global temperatures further, but hotter than any years before 2015.

Scientists think that the climate change we are seeing now is the result of an increased concentration of 'greenhouse gases' in our atmosphere, which has been caused by a combination of deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels.

The Bonn talks follow up on 2015's historic Paris agreement and will seek to find a way to tighten countries' pledges on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Existing pledges would leave the world over 3 degrees C warmer than pre-industrials by 2100, whilst the Paris agreement aimed to limit global temperature increases to no more than 2C. There is still a lot of work to be done. Climate change will affect all of us, so it's vital that every country plays its part in trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible. If we don't do more to combat climate change, we will see rising sea levels, more frequent heatwaves and droughts across some parts of the world, along with increased, more severe flooding and fiercer storms.

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