The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
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.
-ends-
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
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM , ITU , UNECE , UNICEF , WHO , WMO
UNICEF: Ebola, DRC - children orphans or separating them from parents and caregivers; IOM: Humanitarian needs in Djibouti amid arrivals from Yemen and increased migrant movements; WHO: Darfur, scale of health needs far exceeds available resources; WMO co-sponsored Global Heat Forum, Bangkok, monthly Global Seasonal Climate Update; UNECE: UN Forum of Mayors; ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2026; WHO: child and adolescent obesity guidelines and new global roadmap to tackle pregnancy hypertension, a leading cause of maternal mortality
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , WFP , WHO , WTO , UNEP
OCHA – $160M CERF allocation to 12 underfunded crises; UNHCR – 5.8M refugee children remain out of school amid funding cuts; UN Women – Middle East escalation and food security among women/girls; WHO – Gaza supplies and overall situation; WFP – Yemen food insecurity and impact on global hunger ; UNEP - First International Conference of the Global Framework on Chemicals in Geneva | 16-20 November 2026
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNHCR , WHO
Yemen's health system nears collapse amid conflict, causing rising casualties and medicine shortages.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Update by the Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WIPO , WHO , UNICEF , UNHCR , IOM , WFP , FAO
WIPO Global Innovation Index 2026 launch and press conference, WHO Composition of influenza vaccines for the 2027 Southern Hemisphere flu season, UNICEF Yemen hunger and malnutrition; UNHCR Sudan displacement into Chad; IOM Ebola and population movements in DRC; WFP emergency food assistance in Nepal; and FAO food loss and waste.