Without action, WMO chief sees temperatures rising 3-5C this century

The head of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday that global temperatures could rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century if nothing is done to stop rising heat-trapping emissions.

"If we don't do anything, the range will be 3-5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, in response to a Reuters question about climate scenarios.

He was speaking at a news conference in Geneva where another U.N. agency presented a study showing that global emissions surged to a record level in 2018.