A UN report says the most optimistic scenario would see global temperatures peak at about 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels, while other scenarios result in higher peaks.
South Africa is already experiencing the effects of climate change, and those impacts are expected to intensify as global temperatures rise, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned earlier this year.
This warning comes into the spotlight after a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, which says the world is likely to cross the 1.5°C global warming threshold within the next few years.
The report, released on September 2, says the most optimistic scenario would see global temperatures peak at about 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels, while other scenarios result in higher peaks.
UNEP says that once temperatures move above 1.5°C, climate risks and impacts increase with every additional fraction of a degree and every year spent at higher temperatures.
