Annual agency Greenhouse gas newsletter warns of the biggest annual increase in methane concentrations in 2021 since systematic measurements began nearly 40 years ago.
While the reason for the unprecedented increase remains unclear, it appears to be the result of both biological and human-induced processes, according to the report.
The increase in carbon dioxide levels from 2020 to 2021 is also larger than the average annual growth rate over the past decade, and according to WMOlevels continue to increase until 2022.
“[The report] underlined, again, the enormous challenge – and critical necessity – of urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prevent global temperatures from rising further in the future,” said WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas.
More electric vehicles on the road means less pollution and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Human hands in the warming of the planet
The report explains that between 1990 and 2021, the warming effect on our climate (known as forced radiation) is caused by long-lived greenhouse gases (those that exist in the atmosphere). ) has increased by almost 50%, mainly driven by an increase in CO2.
More specifically, last year’s CO2 concentrations reached 415.7 parts per million (ppm), methane 1908 ppm and nitrous oxide 334.5 ppm. These values make up 149%, 262% and 124% of pre-industrial levels, respectively, before human activities began to disrupt the natural balance of these gases in the atmosphere.
“Continued increases in concentrations of key heat-trapping gases, including a record acceleration in methane concentrations, suggest that we are headed in the wrong direction,” Talas said.
Landfills are a major source of methane emissions, and improved management can attract methane as a clean fuel source and reduce health risks. Photo: World Bank / Curt Carnemark
Call for Global Leaders at COP27
For the director of WMOThe report highlights the importance of immediately implementing cost-effective strategies already in place to tackle methane emissions.and cut CO2 by transforming our industrial, energy and transportation systems.
“The necessary changes are economically and technically affordable. Time is running out,” he repeated.
The agency hopes that science includes News, and State of the global climate The report, to be published ahead of the COP27 United Nations Climate Conference in Egypt, will help spur negotiators into more ambitious actions to achieve Paris Agreement The best goal is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Emissions from coal-fired power plants contribute to air pollution in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Find out the culprit:
WMO warns that As long as emissions continue, global temperatures will continue to rise. Given the long lifetime of CO2 in the atmosphere, the observed temperature levels will persist for decades even if emissions rapidly drop to unreal levels.
The scientists point out that it is also important to understand that this report is measuring concentrations of greenhouse gases, that is, what is left in the atmosphere after the gases are absorbed by sinks, such as oceans and biosphere, unlike emissions.
The News explains that after COVID-related shutdowns in 2020, global CO2 emissions have rebounded, mainly from fossil fuels and cement production.
Of the total emissions from human activities during 2011–2020, about 48% accumulated in the atmosphere, 26% in the ocean and 29% on land.
Experts warn that there is concern that the ability of land and ocean ecosystems to function could become less efficient in the future, thereby reducing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide and act as a buffer against greater temperature rise. In some parts of the world, the former carbon-absorbing land has begun to release the gas back into the atmosphere.
Aerial shot of wetlands in China.
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Methane from biological sources can
The scientists explain that methane is the second largest contributor to climate change and consists of a diverse mix of sources and sinks that overlap, so it is difficult to quantify emissions. by source type, the scientists explained.
Since 2007, global methane concentrations are increasing at a rapid rate. The annual increases in 2020 and 2021 are the largest since the subscription system began in 1983.
However, scientists still don’t know what is causing this increase, but some studies indicate that a large amount of this methane comes from “biological sources”, such as wetlands. water and rice fields.
One possibility explored by the news is called “climate feedback,” meaning that as it warms, organic matter breaks down more quickly in tropical wetlands, increasing emissions.
Women of the Batwa community dig the soil with a hoe to prepare for planting potatoes, in Gashikanwa, Burundi.
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Nitrogen oxide from burning biomass and fertilizers
Finally, nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere from both natural (57%) and anthropogenic sources (approximately 43%), including oceans, soil, biomass burning, fertilizer use, and industrial processes. difference.
The increase from 2020 to 2021 is slightly higher than the increase from 2019 to 2020 and higher than the average annual growth rate for the past 10 years, WMO noted.
Currently, WMO is working with the wider community to develop a framework for internationally coordinated and sustainable global greenhouse gas monitoring.
