Indeed, the bulletin also points out that radiative forcing – the technical term used to describe the warming that affects Earth – rose by 36 percent between 1990 and 2014.
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Climate scientists trust that an increment on worldwide normal temperatures of 2C above pre-modern levels would take the world into unchartered region, with possibly unanticipated results regarding great climate and atmosphere inputs that could quicken the liquefying of polar ice and ocean level ascent.
Climate scientists say if global warming continues unabated, its risky effects could include the flooding of coastal cities and island nations, disruptions to agriculture and drinking water, the spread of diseases and the extinction of species.
Today’s record is tomorrow’s baseline – that’s the message from the World Meteorological Organization, who today announced greenhouse gas levels reached an all-time high earlier this year.
The WMO report also notes rapidly increasing atmospheric levels of methane and nitrous oxide, both of which are also greenhouse gases.
Carbon dioxide isn’t the only factor contributing to global warming.
Currently, we have seen about 20 centimetres of global mean sea level rise since pre-industrial times and this is about one third of the level that could be seen by 2100 in a 2 °C world. “This means we are now really in uncharted territory for the human race”.
Regarding this event, Michel Jarraud, WMO Secretary-General, stated as follows. On average, Co2 levels reached 397.7 ppm. The cumulative impact is now pushing the planet through the significant threshold of one degree Celsius of warming, just as scientists have long predicted. “The laws of physics are non-negotiable”, he added. The 2014 recorded concentrations in the atmosphere increased by about 140 percent since pre-industrial times. Emissions refer to what goes into the atmosphere, while concentrations refer to what there is in the atmosphere after the complex system of interactions between the atmosphere, cryosphere (frozen water of the Earth’s system), biosphere (Earth’s surface and atmosphere) and the oceans.
Global Carbon dioxide levels will likely increase again next year because of El Niño, the cyclical warming the Pacific Ocean has been experiencing this year, according to Oksana Tarasova, WMO atmospheric research chief.
The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin’s data provide a scientific base for decision-making.
The Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which detail over 150 countries national climate action plans, only provide half of the emissions cuts needed for a two degrees pathway, the UNEP Emissions Gap report concluded.
A still from a NASA animation showing how carbon dioxide moves around the planet.
But in the spring of 2015, the global average concentration of Carbon dioxide crossed the 400 ppm barrier. By 2016, the global average will probably exceed 400 ppm.
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Water vapor and Carbon dioxide are the two major greenhouse gases.
