According to a new government-funded Met Office study, prepared for the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, scientists unrestrained global warming could bring a severe temperature rise of 4C by the year 2060, nearly 50 years earlier than the previous predictions.

The study challenges the supposition that severe warming will be a prospective peril only for future generations, by noting that the mentioned catastrophic climate changes may well take place with the lifespan of the present generation.

Going by rather disquieting statistics put forth by the Met Office report, the 7.2F (4C) rise in average global temperature can considered a hazardous tipping point – not only would it cause droughts and floods all over the world, but also result in widespread fatalities due to the heat wave, as well as the collapse of important ecosystems.

Comprising new figures on increased emissions from fossil fuels, the study also deliberated on the effect of global warming on the ability of the oceans and rainforests to absorb carbon dioxide.

Noting the importance to reduce emissions, Dr Richard Betts, Head of Climate Impacts at the Met Office Hadley Centre, said: “Four degrees C of warming averaged over the globe translates into even greater warming in many regions, along with major changes in rainfall. If greenhouse gas emissions are not cut soon then we could see major climate changes within our lifetimes.”