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Many think that COVID-19 lockdowns worldwide in 2020 would have helped slow down the pace of climate change, but a UN report released on Thursday said that it was not the case.

The COVID-19 crisis offers only a temporary pause in global emissions, according to the United in Science 2021 report.  

Fossil greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5.6 percent in 2020, and now the average global emissions has returned to pre-pandemic levels. 

Increasing global emissions drives temperatures up. The past five years are among the warmest on record.

There is a rising likelihood that the average global temperature will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in the next five years, the report highlights.

The UN urged countries around the world to incorporate strong decarbonization into their economic recovery plans to prevent this trend.  

The report found that there's a direct link between human-caused emissions and compounding extreme weather and disasters.

Hot temperatures are linked to heat-related deaths and work impairment. An estimated excess of 103 billion potential work hours were lost globally in 2019 compared with those lost in 2000.

Scientists say rising sea levels are inevitable and is a consequence of global warming.

"Even with ambitious action to slow greenhouse gas emissions, sea levels will continue to rise and threaten low-lying islands and coastal populations throughout the world," the report said.

World leaders and delegates will attend the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland also known as COP26 on October 31 to November 12.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes the event could be a turning point in the world's climate change fight. It urges all countries to commit to net zero emissions by 2050 and set up concrete long-term strategies and push for the collective action to cut the global emissions by 45 percent by 2030.

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