Additional Coverage:
Carbon Dioxide Levels Hit Record High, “Turbo-Charging” Earth’s Climate
GENEVA, Switzerland – The Earth’s atmosphere experienced an unprecedented surge in heat-trapping carbon dioxide last year, reaching levels not witnessed in human civilization and accelerating global climate change, according to a recent report from the United Nations weather agency. This historic jump is “turbo-charging” the planet’s climate and contributing to more extreme weather events worldwide.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its annual bulletin on greenhouse gases, a study that precedes the U.N.’s yearly climate conference. The report highlights that CO2 growth rates have now tripled since the 1960s, reaching concentrations last seen over 800,000 years ago.
The WMO attributes this alarming increase to a “vicious climate cycle” fueled by emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and gas, alongside a rise in wildfires. The report notes that despite ongoing human and industrial contributions to heat-trapping gases, the planet’s natural carbon sinks – its oceans and forests – are losing their capacity to absorb them.
The Geneva-based agency stated that the rise in the global average concentration of carbon dioxide from 2023 to 2024 represents the highest annual increase recorded since measurements began in 1957. CO2 growth rates have accelerated significantly, moving from an average annual increase of 2.4 parts per million (ppm) per year between 2011 and 2020, to 3.5 ppm from 2023 to 2024.
“The heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather,” said Ko Barrett, WMO Deputy Secretary-General, in a statement. “Reducing emissions is therefore essential not just for our climate but also for our economic security and community well-being.”
Oksana Tarasova, a senior scientific officer at the WMO, expressed concern that beyond the increase in greenhouse gases, the data may signal a disruption in the delicate carbon cycle. This natural process typically sees humans, industry, vehicles, and animals emit carbon dioxide, while forests and oceans absorb a significant portion, mitigating potential warming. Natural land sinks, including the Amazon rainforest, absorb approximately one-quarter of atmospheric carbon dioxide, with the world’s oceans absorbing another quarter.
‘We May Flip Over the Tipping Point’
Tarasova elaborated at a news conference, stating that the increase in atmospheric CO2 levels is “very important in the sense that probably we started seeing the early indication of the limited capacity of the natural systems to actually absorb everything we emit.” She pointed to the Amazon, which has experienced severe drought and heat, impairing the ability of trees to draw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
“The sinks which we have, they started failing,” Tarasova warned. “The Amazon indeed is emitting CO2, despite the general understanding that if you have a tree, it should absorb.” She further cautioned, “What also may happen is that at a certain point we may flip over the tipping point and then the whole Amazon forest just starts dying.”
Bill Hare, founder of research organization Climate Analytics, described the new data as “alarming and worrying.” He noted that despite fossil fuel emissions remaining “relatively flat” last year, the report indicates an accelerating increase of CO2 in the atmosphere, suggesting “a positive feedback from burning forests and warming oceans driven by record global temperatures.”
“Let there be no mistake, this is a very clear warning sign that the world is heading into an extremely dangerous state – and this is driven by the continued expansion of fossil fuel development, globally,” Hare asserted. “I’m beginning to feel that this points to a slow-moving climate catastrophe unfolding in front of us.”
The WMO is urging policymakers to implement more aggressive measures to reduce emissions. While some governments continue to advocate for increased use of hydrocarbons for energy production, certain businesses and local governments are actively mobilizing to combat global warming. However, Hare believes that very few countries have made climate commitments that come “anywhere near dealing with the gravity of the climate crisis.”
Levels Still Rising
The WMO warns that the increase observed in 2024 is putting the planet on a trajectory for further long-term temperature increases. The report also highlights that concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide, other greenhouse gases stemming from human activity, have also reached record levels.
This report is likely to intensify doubts about the world’s ability to achieve the goal set in the 2015 Paris climate accord: limiting the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. Simon Stiell, the United Nations climate chief, has indicated that the Earth is currently on track for a 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 Fahrenheit) increase.
Meanwhile, data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for this year through June shows that carbon dioxide levels are still rising at one of the highest rates on record, though slightly less than the 2023-2024 period. NOAA’s monthly data from the long-standing Hawaii monitoring location for 2025 through August also indicates continued CO2 increases, but not at the same accelerated pace as between 2023 and 2024.