Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere soared by a record amount in 2024 to hit another high, UN data shows, deepening the climate crisis that is already taking lives and livelihoods across the world.
Scientists are worried that the natural land and ocean “sinks” that remove CO2 from the air are weakening as a result of global heating, which could form a vicious circle and drive temperatures up even faster. The global average concentration of the gas surged by 3.5 parts per million to 424ppm in 2024, the largest increase since modern measurements started in 1957, according to the report by the World Meteorological Organization.
Several factors contributed to the leap in CO2, including another year of unrelenting fossil fuel burning despite a pledge by the world’s countries in 2023 to “transition away” from coal, oil and gas. Another factor was an upsurge in wildfires in conditions made hotter and drier by global heating. Wildfire emissions in the Americas reached historic levels in 2024, which was the hottest year yet recorded.
You can really tell that with the new clusterfucks drawing all the attention, things like social progress and fighting climate change are being neglected.
About 40% of methane emissions come from natural sources. But scientists are concerned that global heating is leading to more methane production in wetlands, another potential feedback loop. The rest comes from fossil fuel exploitation; livestock such as cattle; rotting waste in landfills; and rice paddies. Human-caused nitrous oxide emissions include those from overuse of fertiliser by farmers and some industrial processes.
Add on to this all the new methane seeps they’re discovering on the antarctic sea floor. Personally I think this will turn out to be a major tipping point. There is believed to be a lot of methane down there and methane, while short lived in the atmosphere, is a far more portent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
