The level of greenhouse gases in the air in 2023 reached a historic high, growing at a record pace. The impact of methane on the global temperature increase was about 30%, while the level of carbon dioxide was almost twice as high.
This was reported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in its report, The Associated Press reports.
Scientists note that the growth of carbon dioxide emissions was not as fast as in 2014 and 2015, but the total volume was the highest in 65 years of observations.
Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production also reached a record high of 36.8 billion metric tons. This is double the level recorded 40 years ago.
The NOAA report says that over the past five years, the level of methane in the air has increased by 3% and, compared to pre-industrial levels, has jumped by 160%. The rate of its formation is faster than that of carbon dioxide.
The US Environmental Protection Agency emphasized that methane retains about 28 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide. However, it remains in the atmosphere for about a decade, not for centuries or millennia, like carbon dioxide.
As Ecopolitic previously reported, a study by the climate think tank Ember showed that global carbon emissions from energy production peaked in 2022 and will begin to decline in 2023.
