Where Did the Carbon Dioxide and Methane Data in the Smartfigure Come From?

Turn out in greenhouse emission concentrations jeopardizes Paris Agreement temperature targets

Geneva, 25 October 2021 (WMO) - The abundance of passion-trapping glasshouse gases in the aura once again reached a freshly record cobbler's last year, with the annual rate of increase above the 2011-2020 average. That trend has continued in 2021, according to the World Meteorological Organization (World Meteorological Organization) Greenhouse emission Bulletin.

Tightness of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the most important greenhouse gas, reached 413.2 parts per million in 2020 and is 149% of the pre-industrial level. Methane (CH₄) is 262% and laughing gas (N₂O)  is 123% of the levels in 1750 when frail activities started disrupting Earth's cancel equilibrium. The efficient slowdown from COVID-19 did non have whatever discernible wallop on the atmospheric levels of nursery gases and their increment rates, although there was a temporary decline in new emissions.

As long equally emissions go along, circular temperature will continue to ascending. Given the lengthy life of Carbon monoxide_2, the temperature level already observed will persist for several decades even if emissions are rapidly reduced to net nil. Alongside rising temperatures, this means to a greater extent weather extremes including main heat and rainfall, ice melt, low-lying rise and ocean acidification, accompanied by FAR-reaching socioeconomic impacts.

Roughly fractional of the CO₂ emitted by human activities nowadays remains in the atmosphere. The other half is taken up aside oceans and acres ecosystems. The Bulletin flagged concern that the ability of land ecosystems and oceans to act as "sinks" may become less effective in future, thus reducing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide and act a buffer against larger temperature increment.

The Bulletin shows that from 1990 to 2020, radiative forcing – the warming effect on our clime - past long-lived nursery gases increased past 47%, with CO₂ accounting for more or less 80% of this increase. The numbers are supported on monitoring away WMO's Global Air Watch network.

"The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin contains a stark, scientific message for global climate change negotiators at COP26. At the current rate of gain in greenhouse gas concentrations, we will see a temperature increase by the end of this C far in excess of the Genus Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius higher up pre-industrial levels," said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Professor. Petteri Taalas. "We are way off track."

"The amount of Centennial State₂ in the atm breached the milestone of 400 parts per million in 2015. And just five days later o, it exceeded 413 ppm. This is more than just a chemical expression and figures on a graph. IT has major negative repercussions for our time unit lives and well-existence, for the state of our planet and for the time to come of our children and grandchildren," said Prof. Taalas.

"Carbonic acid gas clay in the atm for centuries and in the ocean for flatbottomed longer. The last time the Terra firma knowledgeable a comparable concentration of CO₂ was 3-5 million eld ago, when the temperature was 2-3°C heater and oceanic level was 10-20 meters higher than right away. Simply there weren't 7.8 billion multitude then," said Prof. Taalas.

"More countries are now scope carbon neutral targets and it is hoped that COP26 volition find a dramatic increase in commitments. We need to translate our consignment into action that leave have an impact of the gases that repulse climate modification. We pauperism to revisit our industrial, Energy and transport systems and whole way of life of life.  The required changes are economically cheap and technically possible. There is no metre to lose," said Prof. Taalas.

Highlights of the Bulletin

Carbon sinks

Roughly one-half of the CO₂ emitted by imperfect activities today remains in the atmosphere. The else half is preoccupied aside oceans and land ecosystems. The section of CO₂ which remains in the atmosphere, is an important indicator of the balance between sources and sinks. It changes from class to year due to natural variability.

Land and ocean CO₂ sinks have increased proportionally with the maximizing emissions in the past 60 long time. But these uptake processes are sensitive to climate and land-use changes. Changes in the effectiveness of carbon copy sinks would have fertile implications for reaching the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement and will need adjustments in the timing and/or size of the emission reduction commitments.

Current climate modify and related feedbacks, like more than patronise droughts and the connected increased occurrent and intensification of wildfires might slim Centennial State₂ uptake past land ecosystems. So much changes are already happening, and the Bulletin gives an example of passage of the part of Amazonia from a carbon settle to a carbon copy source. Ocean intake might also be reduced imputable higher sea surface temperatures, decreased pH imputable Centennial State₂uptake and slowing of the meridional sea circulation ascribable exaggerated thaw of offshore ice.

Timely and accurate information on changes are critical to detecting future changes in the source / sink balance and these are monitored by the Global Atmosphere Watch networks.

Carbon dioxide is the single most distinguished greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, accounting for approximately 66% of the warming impression connected the climate, mainly because of fossil fuel combustion and cement production.

The globally averaged concentrations for CO₂ reached a new high of 413.2 ppm in 2020. The increase in CO₂ from 2019 to 2020 was slightly smaller than 2018 to 2019 simply larger than the average annual growing rate over the last decade. This is scorn the approximately 5.6% drop in fossil fuel CO₂ emissions in 2020 due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

Data from the monitoring stations distinctly show that levels of CO₂ continuing to addition in 2021.

In July 2021, CO₂ assiduousness at Mauna Loa (Aloha State, U.S.A) and Cape Grim (Tasmania, Australia) reached 416.96 ppm and 412.1 ppm, severally, in comparison with 414.62 ppm, and 410.03 ppm in July 2020.

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas pedal which remains in the atmosphere for about a decade.

Methane accounts for about 16% of the warming effect of long-lived greenhouse gases, according to the US National Oceanic and Region Administration (NOAA). Approximately 40% of methane is emitted into the atmosphere past natural sources (for example, wetlands and termites), and about 60% comes from anthropogenic sources (for example, ruminants, rice agriculture, fossil fuel exploitation, landfills and biomass ardent).

The addition from 2019 to 2020 was higher than 2018 to 2019 and also higher than the average annual growth rank over the unlikely decade.

Reduction atmospheric methane in the pint-sized term could support the achievement of the Genus Paris Agreement and supporte in stretch more Property Development Goals due to multiple co-benefits of methane mitigation. But this does not reduce the pauperization for strong, speedy and sustained reductions in CO₂.

Laughing gas is both a powerful greenhouse gas and ozone depleting chemical. It accounts for near 7% of the radiative forcing by long-lived nursery gases.

N₂O is emitted into the atmosphere from both natural sources (some 60%) and anthropogenic sources (approximately 40%), including oceans, soils, biomass lit, fertilizer use, and various developed processes.

The globally averaged N₂O mole fraction in 2020 reached 333.2 ppb, which is an increase of 1.2 ppb with obedience to 2019. The annual increase from 2019 to 2020 was higher than the increase from 2018 to 2019 and also high than the tight growth rate over the past 10 years (0.99 ppb per annum).

Global human-iatrogenic N₂O emissions, which are dominated by atomic number 7 additions to croplands, increased by 30% over the past tetrad decades. Agriculture, owing to the use of N fertilizers and muck, contributes 70% of altogether anthropogenic N₂O emissions. This step-up was mainly causative the growth in the atmospheric burden of N₂O.

Notes for Editors

The WMO Planetary Atmospheric state Watch Programme coordinates systematic observations and psychoanalysis of nursery gases and other region constituents. Greenhouse gas measure information are archived and thin by the Earthly concern Data Centre for Atmospheric phenomenon Gases (WDCGG) at the Japan Meteorological Agency.

A separate and complementary Emissions Gap Written report aside UN Environment will be released on 26 October. The Emissions Disruption paper assesses the latest scientific studies along flow and estimated future greenhouse gas emissions; they compare these with the emission levels allowable for the world-wide to progress on a least-cost pathway to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. This difference between "where we are likely to be and where we want to atomic number 4" is titled the emissions gap.

The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations Organisation's classical voice
on Weather, Climate and Piss

For foster data contact: Clare Nullis, media officer. Email cnullis@wmo.int. Cell + 41 79 709 13 97

Where Did the Carbon Dioxide and Methane Data in the Smartfigure Come From?

Source: https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/greenhouse-gas-bulletin-another-year-another-record

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