The amount of heat trapping carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere soared by the largest margin ever recorded last year, reaching levels unseen in human history and intensifying the planet’s climate crisis, the United Nations weather agency revealed on Wednesday.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), its latest greenhouse gas bulletin, released ahead of the U.N. climate conference shows that CO₂ growth rates have tripled since the 1960s and climbed to heights not observed in at least 800,000 years.
The WMO attributed the spike to the burning of coal, oil, and gas, as well as the rising frequency of wildfires, which together have created a “vicious climate cycle.” While human activities continue to release massive amounts of greenhouse gases, the oceans and forests, natural carbon absorbers are losing their ability to keep up.
The agency reported that the global average concentration of CO₂ rose from 2023 to 2024 by the highest annual increase since records began in 1957. The growth rate has climbed from 2.4 parts per million (ppm) per year between 2011 and 2020 to 3.5 ppm between 2023 and 2024.
“The heat trapped by CO₂ and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to increasingly extreme weather,” said Ko Barrett, WMO Deputy Secretary-General. “Cutting emissions is crucial, not only for our planet but for economic stability and community safety.”
Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, described the findings as “deeply alarming,” noting that despite relatively stable fossil fuel emissions last year, CO₂ concentrations still rose sharply, suggesting “a feedback loop” from burning forests and warming oceans caused by record global temperatures.
“Make no mistake, this is a stark warning that the world is drifting toward an extremely dangerous state,” Hare cautioned. “We are witnessing a slow-moving climate catastrophe unfold before our eyes.”
The WMO urged world leaders to take urgent and decisive action to curb emissions. While some governments continue to expand the use of hydrocarbons like coal and oil, others, including local authorities and private organizations are stepping up efforts to combat global warming and push for cleaner energy solutions.
