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Episode 2Jun 26, 2024

Burning Questions: What’s the deal with 1.5 degrees?

We’re unpacking this climate change benchmark.

Burning Questions: What’s the deal with 1.5 degrees?
Chris Thompson/Marketplace

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In the past decade, 1.5 has become an important number when talking about the climate crisis. (As in 1½ degrees Celsius, which equates to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.) It’s considered the maximum increase in temperature since preindustrial times that Earth can handle before all sorts of terrible things happen. But on the surface, 1.5 degrees doesn’t sound like a huge number. So what gives? In this episode, Amy chats with climate experts to dive deeper into what this number actually means.