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Record high concentration of greenhouse gas will lead to further temperature increase: WMO
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high last year and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels were a full 50 per cent above the pre-industrial era for the first time last year, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday.
There is “no end in sight” to the rising trend, WMO chief Petteri Taalas said at the launch of the agency’s annual greenhouse gas bulletin report.
“We have again broken less comfortable records in main greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide,” said Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General at the report launch in Geneva. “Now we have 150 per cent more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than we had during the pre-industrial times.”
This will mean further temperature increases and more heatwaves, extreme rainfall, glacier melt and sea-level rise, with disastrous consequences for people and planet, WMO said.
“The warming impact of those gases, and you can see that the carbon dioxide is responsible for two-thirds of the warming methane with less than 20 per cent, nitrous oxide, six per cent. They are all together responsible for 11 per cent of the warming potential,” said Professor Taalas.
The UN agency said earlier this month that 2023 will almost certainly be the hottest year on record.
“It looks like we will we reach the all-time high because we have just switched from La Niña to the El Niño year, and besides the normal high temperatures in Pacific, we have also seen very high temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, which is unusual,” informed WMO’s Secretary-General.
Given the long lifetime of CO2, WMO warned that the temperature level already observed “will persist for several decades even if emissions are rapidly reduced to net zero”.
“The lifetime of these gases is so long that they are distributed equally worldwide. So, what is emitted in China doesn't stay in China, but it's seen in some months it's equally distributed worldwide,” said Professor Taalas.
Climate change impacts include more extreme weather and sea level rise, the WMO top official continued.
“Climate change is not only a temperature issue, but it's a wider change in our behavior of atmosphere and we have already seen practically the whole planet has seen an increase of heatwaves”, he said. “About half of the planet has been facing an increase of flooding events and one third of the planet has been facing an increase of drought events and these negative trends will continue until 2060.”
WMO reiterated calls to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and Professor Taalas said that he was encouraged by the rise in the use of renewable energy worldwide.
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STORY: Greenhouse Gas Bulletin report - WMO
TRT: 2:58”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 15 November 2023 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN building with UN flag, UN Geneva.
- Wide shot, press briefing room with journalists, speakers and screens, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Prof Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “We have again broken less comfortable records in main greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. And for example, now we have 150 per cent more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than we had during the pre-industrial times.”
- Cutaway: Medium shot, podium and speakers, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Prof Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “The warming impact of those gases and you can see that the carbon dioxide is responsible for two thirds of the warming methane with less than 20 per cent, nitrous oxide 6 per cent, and the ozone depleting gases that we have seen luckily drop in the emissions. They are all together responsible for 11 per cent of the warming potential.”
- Cutaway: Close up, journalist listening, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Prof Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “The lifetime of these gases is so long that they are distributed equally worldwide. So what is emitted in China doesn't stay in China, but it's seen in some months it's equally distributed worldwide:”
- Cutaway: Wide shot, press briefing room with journalists, speakers and screens, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Prof Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “The impacts of climate change, they are different in different parts of the world. Here in Europe, we have seen an increase of heatwaves, we have seen a dramatic increase in the melting of glaciers and depending on year, we have seen increase of both droughts and flooding.”
- Cutaway: Close up, technician listening, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Prof Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “Climate change is not only temperature issue, but it's wider change in our behavior of atmosphere and we have already seen practically the whole planet has seen an increase of heatwaves. About half of the planet has been facing an increase of flooding events and one third of the planet has been facing an increase of drought events and these negative trends will continue until 2060.”
- Cutaway: Close up, journalist listening, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Prof Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “This year will be the warmest year on record. We will publish the report at the COP 28 in a couple of weeks. But, so far, it looks like we will we reach the all-time high because we have just switched from La Nina to the El Nino year, and besides the normal high temperatures in Pacific, we have also seen very high temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, which is unusual.”
- Cutaway: Medium shot, podium and speakers, UN Geneva
- Cutaway: Close up, journalist listening, UN Geneva
- Cutaway: Close up, technician listening, UN Geneva
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The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
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Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
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Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
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Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
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Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
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Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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