Image. Felix Mettermeier/Pixabay

Greenhouse gas levels surged to a new record in 2023, committing the planet to rising temperatures for many years to come, according to a report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than any time experienced during human existence, rising by more than 10% in just two decades.

In the course of 2023, large vegetation fire CO₂ emissions and a possible reduction in carbon absorption by forests combined with stubbornly high fossil fuel CO₂ emissions from human and industrial activities to drive the increase, according to the WMO’s annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

The globally-averaged surface concentration of CO₂ reached 420.0 parts per million (ppm), methane 1 934 parts per billion and nitrous oxide 336.9 parts per billion (ppb) in 2023. These values are 151%, 265% and 125% of pre-industrial (before 1750) levels, it said. These are calculated on the basis of the long-term observations within the Global Atmosphere Watch network of monitoring stations.

“Another year. Another record. This should set alarm bells ringing among decision makers. We are clearly off track to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C and aiming for 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. These are more than just statistics. Every part per million and every fraction of a degree temperature increase has a real impact on our lives and our planet,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

The WMO announcement comes ahead of the Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan next month. It follows a report from the UN Environment Programme on that found the world is on track to heat 3C by the end of the century. World leaders had promised to stop it from heating 1.5C.

For the latest WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin click here