World's top climatologists expect global warming to exceed 1.5°C target

Hundreds of the world's leading climate scientists expect global temperatures to rise at least 2.5°C (4.5°F) above pre-industrial levels this century, exceeding internationally agreed targets and causing catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet, an exclusive has revealed Guardian survey.

Almost 80 % respondents, all from the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), predict global warming of at least 2.5°C, with nearly half predicting at least 3°C (5.4°F). Only 6 % thought the internationally agreed limit of 1.5C (2.7F) would be met.

Many scientists envision a "semi-dystopian" future with famines, conflicts and mass migration, fueled by heat waves, fires, floods and storms with an intensity and frequency far exceeding those that have already struck. (Damian Carrington, more at theguardian.com)