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Edited News , Press Conferences | UNITED NATIONS , WMO
WMO Virtual Press Conference 25 October 2021
Ahead of the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) on 31 October, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Monday warned that the world is "way off-track" in containing global temperature rise with the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most important greenhouse gas, reaching 413.2 parts per million in 2020. This is 149% of the pre-industrial level.
Speaking at the presentation of this year’s “Greenhouse Gas Bulletin” at the United Nations in Geneva, Prof. Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said that “we have again broken records in main greenhouse gases; carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, and this negative trend that we have been observing in all reports for decades has continued also this year.”
WMO’s annual flagship report on concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stated that as long as emissions continue, global temperature will continue to rise. Given the long life of CO2, the temperature level already observed will persist for several decades even if emissions are rapidly reduced to net zero. Alongside rising temperatures, this means more weather extremes including intense heat and rainfall, ice melt, sea-level rise and ocean acidification, accompanied by far-reaching socioeconomic impacts.
At the current rate of increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, so WMO, the world will see a temperature increase by the end of this century far in excess of the Paris Agreement targets of 1,5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
“We need to mitigate emissions, there is no way around it. We need to reduce emissions as fast as possible”, said Oksana Tarasova, WMO’s chief of Atmospheric and Environment Research Division. She added that “when countries are taking commitments to be carbon neutral, (the) atmosphere gives us a very clear signal that our commitments should be converted in something which we can see in the atmosphere. If we do not see our - let's say at least the decreasing growth rate of the major greenhouse gases - we cannot actually declare the success in climate agenda. We are making measurements and we are providing objective information on what is going on in the atmosphere, so commitments should be followed by the actions.”
A new striking information in this year’s greenhouse gas bulletin is the scientific proof that the south-western part of the Amazonian rainforest has developed from a carbon sink to a producer of carbon.
“We have already seen some alarming indications that for example the Amazonian rainforest ecosystem it used to be a major sink of carbon has become now a source of carbon which is alarming, and this is related to deforestation in the area and also changes in local climate because of this deforestation and also higher temperatures which are favoring evaporation”, Mr. Taalas said.
Co2 is the single most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, accounting for approximately 66 % of the warming effect on the climate, mainly because of fossil fuel combustion and cement production. Roughly half of the CO2 emitted by human activities today remains in the atmosphere. The other half is taken up by oceans and land ecosystems.
“It is clear from science that these concentrations of greenhouse gases, they are driving climate change and if we are able to mitigate those emissions, we could phase out the negative trend in climate around 2060”, Mr. Taalas said. “So that is our aim, but we have also some parameters, some features that will continue for even hundreds of years and that means the melting of snow and ice and melting of glaciers and a related sea level rise. So, we have already reached such a high concentration of carbon dioxide that the problem does not go away fairly, fairly soon”.
Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for centuries and in the ocean for even longer. Many countries are setting carbon neutral targets and it is hoped that COP 26 will bring an increase in commitments.
According to WMO’s chief, “we have all the technical means to convert our energy systems, our transport systems and most of the industry systems to become climate friendly. And also we have the financial resources to reach that but, so far, the progress has been too slow”.
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flags flying.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary General: “We have again broken records in main greenhouse gases; carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, and this negative trend that we have been observing in all reports for decades has continued also this year”.
- Exterior wide shot, entrance of the United Nations Office in Geneva, United Nations flags flying in the background.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Dr. Oksana Tarasova, WMO Chief of Atmospheric and Environment Research Division: “We need to mitigate emissions. There is no way around it. We need to reduce emissions as fast as possible. When countries are taking commitments to be carbon neutral, atmosphere gives us a very clear signal that our commitments should be converted in something which we can see in the atmosphere. If we do not see our - let's say at least the decreasing growth rate of the major greenhouse gases - we cannot actually declare the success in climate agenda. We are making measurements and we are providing objective information on what is going on in the atmosphere, so commitments should be followed by the actions”.
- Exterior wide shot showing the façade of the United Nations Building in Geneva with the United Nations flag in the forefront.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary General: “We have already seen some alarming indications that for example the Amazonian rainforest ecosystem it used to be a major sink of carbon has become now a source of carbon which is alarming, and this is related to deforestation in the area and also changes in local climate because of this deforestation and also higher temperatures which are favoring evaporation”.
- Exterior wide shot showing the building’s eastern wing and its Celestial Sphere.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary General: “It is clear from science that these concentrations of greenhouse gases, they are driving climate change and if we are able to mitigate those emissions, we could phase out the negative trend in climate around 2060. So that is our aim, but we have also some parameters, some features that will continue for even hundreds of years and that means the melting of snow and ice and melting of glaciers and a related sea level rise. So, we have already reached such a high concentration of carbon dioxide that the problem does not go away fairly, fairly soon”.
- Exterior wide shot showing the façade of the United Nations Building in Geneva.
- Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary General: “We have all the technical means to convert our energy systems, our transport systems and most of the industry systems to become climate friendly. And also we have the financial resources to reach that but, so far, the progress has been too slow”.
- Exterior wide shot, eastern wing of the UN building.
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
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:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
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- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
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Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
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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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.
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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.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
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.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
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.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
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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