Greenhouse gas concentrations hit new record in 2025, WMO says
World Meteorological Organization report shows CO2 at 426.8 ppm, 153% of the pre-industrial level, and projects another rise in 2026.
Translated from the Portuguese original by the Panorama newsroom. Read in Portuguese
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Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere reached unprecedented levels in 2025, according to a report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency, released on October 27. According to g1, this increases the amount of heat trapped on the planet.
Carbon dioxide, the main gas linked to human activity, reached a global average of 426.8 parts per million, equivalent to 153% of the 1750 level. The increase over 2024 was 2.8 ppm, smaller than the previous year's but still above the average of recent decades.
The WMO notes that the growth rate of CO2 has tripled since the 1960s, when the average increase was 0.8 ppm per year. Between 2011 and 2020, the annual average was 2.4 ppm. In 2004, when the bulletin began to be published, the concentration was 377.5 ppm.
Methane and nitrous oxide, two other long-lived gases, also recorded unprecedented levels: 1,948 parts per billion for methane and 339.1 ppb for nitrous oxide.
WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said the gases trap "an unprecedented amount of heat" and fuel extreme events. The organization notes that the last 11 years were the hottest ever measured and projects a new rise in CO2 in 2026, driven by fossil fuels and El Niño.