The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published its annual report this Monday, pointing to a new record for the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The figures correspond to 2023, and among them stands out the increase of up to 11.4% of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the last two decades.
The agency of the UN has published these data two weeks before the start of the Climate Summit in Baku (Azerbaijan), and has declared that this “condemns the planet to many years of rising temperatures.”
According to the report, the concentration of gases reached CO2 levels of 420 particles per million last year, which represents a 151% increase over pre-industrial levels (before 1750). Additionally, 1,934 particles per billion were measured. methane and 336.9 particles per billion nitrous oxidethe other two gases that cause global warming. In both cases, the calculated levels represent increases with respect to the pre-industrial era of the 265% and of 125%respectively.
“Another year, another record. This should set off all the alarm bells in the decision-making bodies, there is no doubt that We are very far from meeting the goal of Paris Agreement to keep global warming well below two degrees with respect to pre-industrial levels,” declared the Secretary General of the WMO, Argentina Celeste Saulo.
The document reiterates that the last time a comparable carbon dioxide concentration to the current one between three and five million years ago. Back then, the temperature was between two and three degrees warmer and the sea level was between ten and 20 centimeters higher than today.
Emission focuses
This increase was influenced by transition of the phenomenon of The Girl to the of The Child (the latter linked to an increase in temperatures in the Pacific Ocean). Another factor to take into account is the disastrous fire seasonwhose CO2 emissions were 16% higher than the average of previous years. The large forest fires occurred in countries such as Canada either Australia.
He carbon dioxidewhich comes mainly from the burning of fossil fuels and the production of cement, and whose contribution to global warming is estimated at 64%, increased in 2023 up to 2.3 parts per million compared to 2022. This figure is higher than previous yearalthough lower than the three previous exercises.
On the other hand, the methane and the nitrous oxide they experimented increases of concentration lower than those of 2022according to the WMO report. These gases are generated by natural causes, but also by human activities such as agriculture, livestock or the burning of biomass.
The United Nations meteorological agency warns that, even if emissions were reduced quickly until reaching a zero level net (that is, they were alleviated by absorption phenomena, such as those exerted by forests) It would take decades to reduce current temperature levelsdue to the long permanence of CO2 in the atmosphere.
It can go further
The World Meteorological Organization also warns of risk of further intensification the increase in concentrations of gases that cause global warming.
“The forest fires could release more carbon emissions into the atmosphere, while rising ocean temperatures could reduce their CO2 absorption capacity, so more of this gas could accumulate in the atmosphere and accelerate global warming“he explained Ko BarrettDeputy Secretary General of the WMO.
Almost half of carbon dioxide emissions remain in the atmosphere, the ocean absorbs approximately a quarter, and terrestrial ecosystems around 30%. However, these percentages vary due to meteorological phenomena such as La Niña or El Niño.
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