Globally, the temperature has risen by 0.9 °C since the pre-industrial period 1871-1900 up to the reference period 1991-2020 – and by 1.3 to 1.4 °C by 2024. The climate scenarios show the climate conditions that will prevail in Switzerland once the 30-year global average temperature has risen to 1.5 °C (GWL1.5), 2 °C (GWL2.0) or 3 °C (GWL3.0) above the pre-industrial temperature level of 1871-1900.

The approach follows the methodology of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and allows the results to be linked to the climate targets in the Paris Agreement. Global warming levels make it possible to show the effects of global temperature rise on the Swiss climate, independently of emissions scenarios and therefore independently of the rate of global warming.

It is also possible to determine the point in time when a global warming level will be reached. However, this point in time depends on the emissions scenario selected: A 1.5-degree world is practically unavoidable due to past and current global greenhouse gas emissions and is imminent. A 2-degree world would be reached at around 2050 with current and planned climate mitigation (SSP2-4.5) or at around 2040 if we continue to rely on using fossil fuels without implementing further climate mitigation measures (SSP5-8.5). A 3-degree world would become reality around 2065 if we continue to rely on using fossil fuels without implementing climate mitigation measures (SSP5-8.5). Based on the measures currently planned for global emissions reduction, the world is heading for a temperature rise of around 3 °C by the end of the century (sources: IPCC, Climate Action Tracker (as of 2025)).