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BURNING ISSUE

Global warming is still hotting up during the coronavirus crisis, UN warns

GLOBAL warming is still hotting up as Covid makes it harder to monitor, a report warns.

Ice continues to melt and heatwaves plague Siberia, the United Nations study reveals.

Global warming is continuing 'unabated' during the coronavirus crisis
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Global warming is continuing 'unabated' during the coronavirus crisisCredit: Getty

The pandemic is crippling monitoring efforts.

It has cut data being gathered from weather stations, commercial ships and tracking aircraft.

The world is not on target to limit warming to 1.5C, or well below 2C, above pre-industrial levels, as countries aimed.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres writes: “The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted lives worldwide.

"At the same time the heating of our planet and climate disruption has continued apace.

"Never before has it been so clear that we need long-term, inclusive, clean transitions to tackle the climate crisis and achieve sustainable development.

"We must turn the recovery from the pandemic into a real opportunity to build a better future."

World Meteorological Organisation secretary-general Professor Petteri Taalas added: "Greenhouse gas concentrations - which are already at their highest levels in three million years - have continued to rise.

"And now 2016-2020 is set to be the warmest five-year period on record.

"This report shows that whilst many aspects of our lives have been disrupted in 2020, climate change has continued unabated."

Antonio Guterres says 'we must turn the recovery from the pandemic into a real opportunity to build a better future'
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Antonio Guterres says 'we must turn the recovery from the pandemic into a real opportunity to build a better future'Credit: Alamy Live News
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