The UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has reported that the level of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change reached unprecedented levels in 2022.

The World Meteorological Organization stated that the increasing trend shows no signs of stopping, largely due to the combustion of fossil fuels.

The amount of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, has increased by 50% since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

2 concentration in over 3 million years

For the past 3 million years, the Earth has not had levels of CO2 concentration as high as the current ones.₂

During a period of 3-5 million years, the WMO reported that the Earth’s temperature was 2-3 degrees Celsius warmer and the sea level was 10-20 meters higher than it is currently.

According to the report released before the UN’s Cop28 climate summit on November 30th, the levels of methane and nitrous oxide, two significant greenhouse gases, also increased.

The levels of greenhouse gases will keep rising unless we reduce emissions to net zero. This means that both global warming and the effects of severe weather will also continue to grow.

According to a report released on Tuesday, countries are not meeting the necessary requirements to reduce emissions, despite advancements in renewable energy and electric vehicles. The report states that coal needs to be eliminated at a rate seven times faster than current efforts in order to prevent the severe consequences of climate change.

Prof Petteri Taalas, the secretary-general of the WMO, stated that even with numerous warnings, reports, and climate conferences over the years, we are still not making progress in the right direction.

According to him, the current amount of greenhouse gases is leading us towards a significant rise in temperatures, surpassing the goals set by the Paris agreement by the year 2100.

The increasing frequency of extreme weather events will result in higher socioeconomic and environmental consequences. It is imperative that we take urgent action to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.

Scientists have reported unprecedented temperatures and extreme weather patterns over the past year, resulting in loss of life and economic impact worldwide.

2 accounting for over 80% of the increase.

According to the WMO report, the impact of greenhouse gases on warming in the atmosphere has increased by 50% from 1990 to 2022, with carbon dioxide being responsible for more than 80% of this rise.₂

This increase is primarily due to accounting for approximately 80% of the total.

Methane, a strong contributor to the greenhouse effect, is primarily produced by human activities such as the fossil fuel industry, livestock, and waste disposal. In 2022, levels of methane have once again increased, leading scientists to worry that the recent surge in methane emissions could be caused by the impact of climate change on wetlands, potentially creating a feedback loop.

In 2022, there was a significant rise in nitrous oxide levels, surpassing any previous records. This particular greenhouse gas is a result of excessive use of fertilizers, burning of crop waste, and industrial activities.

In September, the International Energy Agency predicted a decrease in the demand for oil, gas, and coal in the coming years, marking the start of the decline of the fossil fuel era. However, the agency also stated that this decline is not significant enough to meet the internationally agreed goal of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5C.

According to a recent report from the United Nations, the world’s producers of fossil fuels are intending to expand their operations to a degree that would exceed the planet’s carbon budget by two times. This has been deemed “insanity” by experts, who believe it puts the future of humanity at risk.

Source: theguardian.com