Climate research suggests warming could be 25 percent more severe

New research conducted by the University of Leipzig and ETH Zurich suggests that future global temperature increases could be 25 percent more severe than previously estimated. If current policies remain unchanged, global temperatures could rise by approximately 3.25 degrees Celsius by the year 2100.

The study indicates that such warming could reach critical thresholds sooner or with higher probability than earlier models predicted. The findings are particularly significant for Switzerland, where warming is occurring faster than the global average. A global increase of 3 degrees Celsius could result in a local temperature rise of approximately 4.9 degrees Celsius in the Swiss region.

Researchers arrived at these conclusions by combining satellite data regarding the Earth’s energy balance—the difference between absorbed solar heat and radiated energy—with natural climate fluctuations. The data emphasizes that immediate and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are necessary to avoid the most pessimistic climate scenarios.