Methane Concentration Level in 2021 Reaches All-Time High
Smoke rises from a coal-powered steel plant at Hehal village near Ranchi, in eastern state of Jharkhand, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The most significant increase in methane concentration in the atmosphere over the past 40 years was recorded in 2021, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday.The WMO reported that the atmospheric levels of three major greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — reached new record levels last year.”WMO’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin reported the biggest year-on-year jump in methane concentrations in both 2020 and 2021 since systematic measurements began nearly 40 years ago,” the report said.The reasons for this increase are unclear, but it appears to be the result of both biological and anthropogenic processes.
IndiaIndia Worst Hit by Climate Change-Induced Heatwave Among G20 Nations21 October, 09:57 GMTAccording to the WMO, global emissions have increased after lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.”Carbon dioxide concentrations in 2021 were 415.7 parts per million (ppm), methane at 1908 parts per billion (ppb) and nitrous oxide at 334.5 ppb. These values constitute, respectively, 149%, 262% and 124% of pre-industrial levels before human activities started disrupting natural equilibrium of these gases in the atmosphere,” according to the report.WMO will present a separate report, State of the Global Climate 2022, at the 27th UN climate change conference in Egypt in November, where the effect of greenhouse gases on climate change will be demonstrated. According to WMO, the years from 2015-2021 were the seven warmest on record. The organization believes that the world needs to strengthen the exchange of information on greenhouse gases to make better decisions on climate mitigation efforts.
