Why even a fraction of a degree can escalate climate change impacts

Countries are not meeting their goal of limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius. How much hotter the planet gets makes a profound difference for the impacts the world could see.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1024x683+0+0/resize/1024x683!/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2F4e%2F980b44cd46a9b9666149547b9ae2%2Fgettyimages-2152105876.jpg' alt='Coral reefs are highly vulnerable to heat, like these bleached corals in Thailand in 2024. If the planet continues to warm at the current rate, the majority of the world's reefs aren't likely to survive.'/><p>Countries are not meeting their goal of limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius. How much hotter the planet gets makes a profound difference for the impacts the world could see.</p><p>(Image credit: Sirachai Arunrugstichai)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-6035801' />