Brace for years of extreme weather and severe storms, experts say

With the Atlantic hurricane season set to begin this Sunday and experts predicting an active year

forecasters are now warning about something even longer lasting, years of record-breaking heat

The World Meteorological Organization released a five-year outlook Wednesday, projecting an 80 percent chance that Earth will set a new record

for the highest average annual temperature sometime in the next few years

The warming planet means stronger hurricanes, heavier rainfall, and on the other end of the extreme, more droughts

Johann Rockström, director of Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, says that even a tenth of a degree in additional warming can increase the frequency of extreme events

including heat waves, wildfires, floods, and typhoons. Since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, the global goal has been to limit warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 Fahrenheit, above pre-industrial levels

But scientists now say there is an 86% chance that threshold will be surpassed at least once by 2030

Exhibit A, last year. Earth recorded its hottest year on record. In the United States alone, there were 27 major weather disasters, costing more than $180 billion in damage

Samantha Burgess from the European Commission's Copernicus Climate Service blames the rise in temperatures on the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

And, according to NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there's no sign this trend is slowing down

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