Record Carbon Dioxide Levels and Warning of a Climate Vicious Cycle

Wildfires Increase Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Record Carbon Dioxide Levels and Warning of a Climate Vicious Cycle

Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere recorded their largest increase on record last year, the United Nations announced, calling for urgent action to reduce emissions.

The UN's World Meteorological Organization said that atmospheric carbon dioxide recorded "the largest increase since modern measurements began in 1957," with levels of all three main greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—reaching record highs.

The organization's annual bulletin said that continued emissions of carbon dioxide due to human activity and an increase in wildfires are responsible for this increase, along with the declining capacity of carbon dioxide "sinks," such as land and ocean ecosystems, to absorb it. The bulletin explained that this threatens to plunge Earth into a "climate vicious cycle."

2024 was the hottest year on record, surpassing the previous year, according to the organization. "The heat generated by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases exacerbates climate conditions and extreme weather events," said Ko Barrett, the organization's assistant secretary-general, in a statement. "It is therefore essential that we reduce these emissions, not just for the climate, but for our economic security."