Read the given passage and answer the four questions that follow:-

It's a tough time to be a glacier. Scientists expected Venezuela's Humboldt Glacier to last another decade, but in 2024 it melted into an ice field, shrinking to under two hectares. This marks the loss of the country's last glacier and signals a grim future for others. Scientists warn that glaciers in countries like Germany and Mexico will also disappear as fossil fuel consumption accelerates global warming. Communities depending on glaciers for fresh water face challenges, as glaciers in mountain ranges like the Andes provide vital drinking and irrigation water for millions of people.

However, about 80% of global glaciers, excluding polar ice sheets, could survive if countries rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Tropical glaciers in regions such as the Andes, East Africa, and Indonesia, however, are unlikely to recover due to higher temperatures. Despite pledges in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, current projections suggest a rise of 3°C, potentially raising sea levels by nearly 10 feet by 2100, threatening island nations like Fiji and the Maldives with destruction.

A proposal to protect ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland involves a 62-mile-long removable underwater curtain, but experts like James Kirkham from the International Cryosphere Initiative caution that such measures are distractions from the real issue: halting global heating. Without decisive action, glaciers will continue to melt, and more countries will lose their ice. The urgency of addressing climate change has never been clearer, and the world's glaciers can't afford any more delays.

Current projections of global warming at 3°C above pre-industrial levels suggest that the human race ______.

is on the brink of disaster and self-destruction

The correct answer is Option (1) → is on the brink of disaster and self-destruction

The passage links the $3^{\circ }\text{C}$ projection directly to catastrophic global consequences: "Despite pledges in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit warming to $1.5^{\circ }\text{C}$ above pre-industrial levels, current projections suggest a rise of $3^{\circ }\text{C}$, potentially raising sea levels by nearly 10 feet by 2100, threatening island nations like Fiji and the Maldives with destruction."

A $3^{\circ }\text{C}$ rise, which results in:

• Widespread glacier loss.

• Sea level rise threatening entire nations with destruction.

...is clearly a projection of environmental disaster. This implies that humanity has not effectively stopped the temperature rise and is not strictly adhering to the Paris Agreement's $1.5^{\circ }\text{C}$ goal.

Why the other options are incorrect:
Option 2: The rise in temperatures has not stopped; it is increasing.
Option 3: The passage says emissions are still high, not reduced.
Option 4: The world is not adhering to the Paris Agreement; warming is far above the 1.5°C target.