WMO: Carbon Dioxide and Other Key Greenhouse Gases Hit Record Highs in 2025, Effects to Last for Centuries
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in its latest Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, reports that concentrations of carbon dioxide and other key greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere rose to the highest levels on record in 2025. The agency notes that once emitted, greenhouse gases remain in the atmosphere for a long time, and the warming they cause will last for centuries.
Carbon dioxide is the longest-lived and most significant of the major greenhouse gases, and human activity — above all the burning of fossil fuels — is the main driver of its continued rise. Concentrations of methane, nitrous oxide and other key gases also remain elevated. Higher concentrations mean Earth's system traps more heat, closely linked to rising global average temperatures, sea-level rise and more frequent extreme weather events.
The WMO publishes the Greenhouse Gas Bulletin every year, compiling data from its Global Atmosphere Watch network to provide a scientific basis for climate policy and UN climate negotiations. The agency has repeatedly said that countries' current pace of emissions cuts still falls well short of the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：燃煤电厂的冷却塔（资料图）。照片：美国国家档案馆 Documerica 系列，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。/ Photo: Cooling towers of a coal-fired power plant (file photo). U.S. National Archives, Documerica series, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
