Global temperatures on track to rise 3-5 degrees by 2100 - U.N.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Global temperatures are on course to rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius this century, far overshooting the target to limit the increase to 2 degrees or less, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization said in its annual statement on the state of the climate on Thursday.

"Greenhouse gas concentrations are once again at record levels and if the current trend continues we may see temperature increases 3-5 degrees C by the end of the century," WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in the statement.

"If we exploit all known fossil fuel resources, the temperature rise will be considerably higher."

(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)