Geneva [Switzerland], November 16: The most important climate-damaging greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), reached a concentration of 50% above pre-industrial levels, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported in Geneva on Wednesday.
The increase has continued this year, the WMO said.
The greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) also reached record levels last year.
Despite decades of warnings from the scientific community and thousands of pages of reports and dozens of climate conferences, the world is still moving in the wrong direction, WMO chief Petteri Taalas said in a statement.
The last time CO2 concentrations were as high as they are now was 3 million to 5 million years ago, according to the UN weather organization.
At that time, the average temperature was two to three degrees Celsius higher and sea levels were 10 to 20 metres higher.
The CO2 concentration in the atmosphere last year was 417.9 parts per million, or particles of CO2 per million particles (ppm), an increase of 2.2 ppm compared to the previous year.
According to the WMO, the rise in CO2 levels levelled off slightly last year compared to 2021 and the 10-year average. However, this is probably due to natural fluctuations.
New emissions from industrial man-made activities continued to rise.
And because CO2 has a long lifespan, the temperature rise that has already occurred will continue for decades to come - even if emissions are quickly reduced to zero.
Source: Qatar Tribune
