“The heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather,” WMO deputy secretary-general Ko Barrett said. — Bloomberg
WASHINGTON: Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human activities and wildfires rose last year, while the land and oceans’ ability to absorb carbon diminished, leading to a record surge in the amount of the planet-warming gas in the atmosphere.
The global average concentration of CO2 blanketing the Earth surged by 3.5 parts per million from 2023 and 2024, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin on Wednesday.
That represents the largest yearly increase since modern measurements started in 1957 and is above the average increase of 2.4ppm in the decade between 2011 and 2020.
“The heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather,” WMO deputy secretary-general Ko Barrett said in a statement.
“Reducing emissions is therefore essential not just for our climate but also for our economic security and community well-being.”
The greenhouse gases accumulated in the atmosphere are warming the planet, unleashing extreme weather events that have caused thousands of deaths and billions in economic losses annually.
Last year, global temperatures rose above 1.5 celcius on an annual basis for the first time ever, breaching a threshold set by global leaders when they signed the Paris Agreement a decade ago.
Concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide – the second and third most potent greenhouse gases related to human activities – also increased to record levels globally in 2024, the WMO said.
In 2024, methane concentrations were up 166% compared with pre-industrial times.
Emissions from burning fossil fuels, which account for about 80% of carbon pollution from human activities, may have peaked last year and could start declining this year, according to researchers at BloombergNEF.
But massive fires across the globe might outstrip that decline.
An exceptional season for wildfires in South America might be the reason behind the record increase of CO2 levels in the atmosphere in 2024, the WMO said.
Furthermore, the blazes led to historic wildfire emissions from the continent, with Bolivia and the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Mato Grosso do Sul experiencing unusually intense fires throughout most of the year.
Total emissions and wildfire emissions for the Amazon rainforest were the highest on record last year, driven by the fires and by the El Nino phenomenon, which caused drought and high temperatures across the region.
About half of the carbon emitted by human activities every year remains in the atmosphere, and the rest is absorbed by Earth’s ecosystems.
But as temperatures increase, the ability of the ocean and land to absorb CO2 decreases.
“There is concern that terrestrial and ocean CO2 sinks are becoming less effective,” said Oksana Tarasova, a WMO senior scientific officer.
“That will increase the amount of CO2 that stays in the atmosphere, thereby accelerating global warming”. — Bloomberg
