The increase in greenhouse gases will not slow in 2023

Global levels of the three most important human-caused greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) continued to rise steadily throughout 2023.

According to scientists from NoahAlthough the increase in the three heat-trapping gases recorded in air samples collected by… NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) in 2023 ⁽¹⁾ These jumps were not as high as the record jumps seen in recent years, but rather were in line with the sharp increases we have seen over the past decade.

Global surface concentration of carbon dioxideIts average over the 12 months of 2023 was 419.3 ppm, an increase of 2.8 ppm over the year. This was the 12th consecutive year that CO2 rose by more than 2 ppm, the highest sustained rate of CO2 increases over 65 years of observational record. Three consecutive years of CO2 growth 2 ppm or higher was not seen in NOAA monitoring records before 2014. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is now more than 50% higher than pre-industrial levels.

“The increase in 2023 is the third largest in the past decade, most likely a result of the continued increase in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, coupled with an increase in fire emissions possibly as a result of the transition of La Niña to El Niño,” said Shen Lan, a scientist at CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) Who leads GML’s efforts to collect data from… NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network To track global trends in Greenhouse gases.

Methane in the atmosphere, which is less abundant than carbon dioxide but is more powerful at trapping heat in the atmosphere, increasing to an average of 1922.6 parts per billion (ppb). The increase in methane in 2023 compared to 2022 was 10.9 ppb, lower than the record growth rates recorded in 2020 (15.2 ppb), 2021 (18 ppb), and 2022 (13.2 ppb), but It still is.Fifth highest level since renewable methane growth began in 2007 The atmosphere is now more than 160% higher than it was before the Industrial Revolution.

Increases in atmospheric nitrous oxide over the past decades are mainly due to the use of nitrogen fertilizers and manure resulting from the expansion and intensification of agriculture.

In 2023, nitrous oxide levels, which is the third most important greenhouse gas caused by humans, rose by one part per billion to 336.7 parts per billion. The two years with the greatest growth since 2000 occurred in 2020 (1.3 ppb) and 2021 (1.3 ppb). Increases in atmospheric nitrous oxide over the past few decades are primarily due to the use of nitrogen fertilizers and manure resulting from the expansion and intensification of agriculture. Nitrous oxide concentrations are 25% higher than the pre-industrial level of 270 parts per billion.