A major new climate report described as a “code red for humanity” warns that global warming has already had an “irreversible” impact on the planet including the oceans and polar ice caps. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts temperatures will be 1.5C higher than 1850-1900 levels by 2040 but says it is still possible to stay below this with significant cuts to global emissions before 2030.

The report says:

• It is “unequivocal” that humans are warming the planet and have likely caused rapid changes to the climate.
• Stabilising the global rise in temperatures at 1.5C is possible, but will still result in increasing heatwaves, droughts and floods.
• Global warming is already affecting weather and climate extremes around the world, and hot extremes have become more frequent since the 1950s.
• It doesn’t rule out a 2m rise in sea levels by the end of the century.