Carbon dioxide levels grew at record pace in 2016, U.N. says

The area near a chemical plant (rear) is seen covered in smoke and dust at an industrial park in Wuhai, in China's northern Inner Mongolia region, December 7, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Lee

GENEVA (Reuters) - The amount of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere grew at record rate in 2016 to a level not seen for millions of years, potentially fuelling a 20-metre rise in sea levels and adding 3 degrees to temperatures, the United Nations said on Monday.

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main man-made greehouse gas, hit 403.3 parts per million (ppm), up from 400.0 in 2015, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.