<\/p>\n
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said average carbon dioxide concentrations reached 426.8 parts per million, equivalent to 153% of pre-industrial levels recorded in 1750. \u201cEvery additional part per million matters because it traps additional heat,\u201d WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIn effect, we are supercharging the ocean and the atmosphere. That means heatwaves, tropical cyclones and rainstorms are intensifying faster than our historical baselines prepared us for.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Carbon dioxide concentrations stood at 377.5 parts per million when WMO first published the Greenhouse Gas Bulletin in 2004.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Annual carbon dioxide growth has tripled since the 1960s, increasing from an average of 0.8 parts per million annually to 2.4 parts per million between 2011 and 2020.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Concentrations increased by another 2.8 parts per million between 2024 and 2025, largely because of fossil-fuel use.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
WMO Senior Scientific Officer Oksana Tarasova warned that concentrations could rise further in 2026 as fossil-fuel consumption continued and a powerful El Ni\u00f1o weakened forests and other natural carbon sinks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
About half of the carbon dioxide released annually remains in the atmosphere. Land ecosystems and oceans absorb the remainder.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The warming effect of greenhouse gases increased by 56% between 1990 and 2025, with carbon dioxide responsible for about 81% of the rise. \u201cAnother year, another new record,\u201d Barrett said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe past 11 years have been the warmest on record, and this trend is set to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
WMO also warned about sulphur hexafluoride, used in electricity distribution, and hydrogen leakage linked to emerging energy systems.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sulphur hexafluoride has an atmospheric lifetime exceeding 1 000 years and a 100-year warming potential about 24 300 times greater than carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hydrogen is not a greenhouse gas but can indirectly contribute to warming by affecting atmospheric chemistry.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
WMO said careful monitoring was essential to prevent unintended environmental consequences from undermining the benefits of the global energy transition.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":35045,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-49237","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide reached record levels in 2025, locking in further global warming for decades and potentially centuries.","published_date":"","news_description":"Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide reached record levels in 2025, locking in further global warming for decades and potentially centuries.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49239,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/49237\/revisions\/49239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=49237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}