WMO says Carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere reached record high in 2024, marking highest ever single-year increase 

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has said that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have reached the highest ever recorded, potentially further warming the planet and leading to more extreme climate events. A new report by WMO, from 2023 to 2024, the global average concentration of CO2 rose by 3.5 parts per million – the largest increase since modern measurements started in 1957. The report has been published ahead of next month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil.
 
 
The burning of fossil fuels and an increase in wildfires, particularly in South America, drove the rise in CO2 levels over the last year, the report said. WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said that the heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather. Concentrations of other important greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide, also rose to record levels.
 
WMO senior scientific officer Oksana Tarasova said that the CO2 gas accumulated in the atmosphere has a very long lifetime. Tarasova said, about 50% of carbon emissions are soaked up by forests, land, and oceans; however, the ability of these so-called carbon sinks to absorb the gases is lessening. Tarasova said that trees in the Amazon became stressed from rising temperatures and low rainfall. She said, if the tree is under stress, if it doesn’t have water and has a very high temperature, it does not photosynthesize.