New Delhi, Oct 19: Despite massive threat of climate change to the planet earth due to excessive carbon emission, the rate of industrialization and deforestation still go up unabatedly.
It’s why the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) entering Earth's atmosphere increased by a record amount in 2024, locking in further global warming, according to a new report published by the LifeScience.
According to the report, the CO2 levels increased by 3.5 parts per million (ppm) from 2023 to 2024, marking the largest one-year increase since modern records began in 1957.
The 3.5 ppm increase in 2024 was up from a 2.4 ppm rise in 2023 and higher than the average annual growth rate of 2.57 ppm established over the past decade. The total atmospheric CO2 concentration was about 423.9 ppm in 2024, up 152% compared to the pre-industrial level — the estimated concentration before 1750.
Researchers attributed the record rise to humanity's continued use of fossil fuels, a surge in wildfires, and less absorption from Earth's carbon sinks (such as oceans and forests) that naturally take CO2 out of the atmosphere.
Scientists have warned for decades that humanity needs to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere to keep climate change under control.
The findings of the new report, published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), illustrates that the opposite is happening, with CO2 levels spiking like never before.The WMO recommended reducing CO2 emissions and improving monitoring.
"The heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather," Ko Barrett, the deputy secretary general at WMO, said in a statement.
"Reducing emissions is therefore essential not just for our climate but also for our economic security and community well-being."
CO2 and other greenhouse gases trap heat by absorbing radiation. As greenhouse gas concentrations increase, so do global average temperatures.
The effects of global warming are shifting weather patterns, raising sea levels, compromising our ability to grow food and are having a variety of other expensive impacts that ultimately threaten the lives of billions of people.
Climate scientists consider CO2 to be the most significant climate-impacting greenhouse gas. It has been responsible for about 80% of the total greenhouse gas heating influence on our atmosphere since 1990, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Atmospheric CO2 levels have steadily climbed for decades bringing concern for men, animal, vegetation and as a whole for the planets with the entire eco-system.
