In 2016, nearly 200 world leaders pledged to do everything they could to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Since then, policymakers around the world have proposed countless laws based on the assumption that warming will never exceed that limit.

But scientists can share some sobering news: The Earth surpassed 1.5 degrees of warming in 2024, is rapidly heading toward even greater warming, and has already been irreversibly changed.

According to research published on Thursday, February 6, in in the journal Science , even if every country were to meet their current Paris Agreement commitments—and that's a big if—the globe would still be on track to warm by 2.7 degrees Celsius, or 4.9 degrees Fahrenheit, by 2100. (More on phys.org)