Excessive greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere from human activity are growing faster than we measured before. This unnatural phenomenon traps increasing heat from Sun, and it is the root cause of global warming. On November 25, 2019 World Meteorological Organization announced the 2018 CO2 increase was slightly over the average for the past decade. This is therefore the worst ever greenhouse gas increase on record.
Methane, Nitrous Oxide Worsen Greenhouse Gas Crisis
Those two warming gases, alongside numerous others have also surged above the past ten year average. As a result, the greenhouse gas warming effect has grown by 43% since 1990.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) distinguishes between emissions and warming gases. The former are the pollution that humans cause by burning fossil fuel. While warming gases are what remains after these interact with the atmosphere, oceans, forests and land. The Organization accumulates its data from Arctic monitoring stations, and elsewhere right around the world.
More Statistics from World Meteorological Organization
The worst ever greenhouse gas growth on record has taken us to a point where the past decade was 147% warmer than 1750. During 2018, CO2 concentrations increased from 405.5 parts per million to 407.8.
Methane is now at 259% of pre-industrial levels, while Nitrous Oxide concentrations grew by 123%. These increases combined to push the overall warming by 43% in the past 28 years. Moreover, there is no indication this ‘total radiative force’ is slowing. “There is no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline, in greenhouse gases concentration in the atmosphere. This is despite all the commitments under the Paris agreement on climate change,” says WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
The last time this happened three to five million years ago, the temperature was 2ºC to 3ºC warmer than it is now. And the sea level was between 32.8 and 65.6 feet higher than the current level, he notes.
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