Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere reached new record highs in 2023, the UN warned on Monday, with countries falling “miles short” of what is needed to curb devastating global warming.
Levels of the three main greenhouse gases — heat-trapping carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — all increased yet again last year, said the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nation’s weather and climate agency.
Carbon dioxide was accumulating in the atmosphere faster than ever, up more than 10 percent in two decades, it added.
And a separate report by UN climate change found that barely a dent is being made in the 43 percent emissions cut needed by 2030 to avert the worst of global warming.
Action as it stands would only lead to a 2.6 percent reduction this decade from 2019 levels.
“The report’s findings are stark but not surprising — current national climate plans fall miles short of what’s needed to stop global heating from crippling every economy, and wrecking billions of lives and livelihoods across every country,” said UN climate chief Simon Stiell.
The two reports come just weeks before the United Nations COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, and as nations prepare to submit updated national climate plans in early 2025.
“Bolder” plans to slash the pollution that drives warming will now have to be drawn up, Stiell said, calling for the end of “the era of inadequacy”.
– ‘Alarm bells’ –
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries agreed to cap global warming at “well below” two degrees Celsius above average levels measured between 1850 and 1900 — and 1.5C if possible.
But so far their actions have failed to meet that challenge.
Existing national commitments would see 51.5 billion tonnes of CO2 and its equivalent in other greenhouse gases emitted in 2030 — levels that would “guarantee a human and economic trainwreck for every country, without exception,” Stiell said.
As long as emissions continue, greenhouse gases will keep accumulating in the atmosphere, raising global temperatures, WMO said.
Last year, global temperatures on land and sea were the highest in records dating as far back as 1850, it added.
WMO chief Celeste Saulo said the world was “clearly off track” to meet the Paris Agreement goal, adding that record greenhouse gas concentrations “should set alarm bells ringing among decision-makers”.
“CO2 is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than at any time during human existence,” the report said, adding that the current atmospheric CO2 level was 51 percent above that of the pre-industrial era.
– Sea levels 65 feet higher –
The last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was three to five million years ago, when the temperature was two to three Centigrade warmer and the sea level was 10 to 20 metres (65 feet) higher than now, it said.
Given how long CO2 lasts in the atmosphere, current temperature levels will continue for decades, even if emissions rapidly shrink to net zero.
In 2023, CO2 concentrations were at 420 parts per million (ppm), methane at 1,934 parts per billion, and nitrous oxide at 336 parts per billion.
CO2 accounts for about 64 percent of the warming effect on the climate.
Its annual increase of 2.3 ppm marked the 12th consecutive year with an increase greater than two ppm — a streak caused by “historically large fossil fuel CO2 emissions in the 2010s and 2020s”, the report said.
Just under half of CO2 emissions remain in the atmosphere, while the rest are absorbed by the ocean and land ecosystems.
Climate change itself could soon “cause ecosystems to become larger sources of greenhouse gases”, WMO deputy chief Ko Barret warned.
“Wildfires could release more carbon emissions into the atmosphere, whilst the warmer ocean might absorb less CO2. Consequently, more CO2 could stay in the atmosphere to accelerate global warming.
“These climate feedbacks are critical concerns to human society.”

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has issued a stark warning in its 2024 Emissions Gap Report, highlighting that greenhouse gas emissions are at an all-time high. The UN stressed the urgency of immediate and comprehensive action to avoid surpassing the critical 1.5°C global temperature increase limit set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“Climate crunch time is here,” stated UNEP’s Executive Director, Inger Andersen. She emphasized that global mobilization is needed on an unprecedented scale and speed, starting immediately, to fulfill climate pledges. If nations fail to act, she warned that the 1.5°C goal will be at risk, potentially leading to a scenario where global temperatures rise significantly above two degrees Celsius.

The report was launched during the COP16 global biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia, and it tracks the gap between current emissions trajectories and the levels needed to limit warming to well below 2°C while striving for the 1.5°C target. According to UNEP, countries must collectively commit to cutting annual greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030 and 57% by 2035. These commitments, termed nationally determined contributions (NDCs), outline specific actions to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts, including securing necessary funding and updating plans every five years.

Without dramatic cuts in emissions, the world could face a catastrophic temperature rise of 3.1°C. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized that the emissions gap is not merely theoretical; there is a direct correlation between rising emissions and increasingly severe climate disasters. “We are teetering on a planetary tightrope,” he warned, stressing that leaders must bridge this gap to avert climate catastrophe, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.

The upcoming COP29 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, set for November, will serve as a critical platform for discussions on new, ambitious national climate plans. Guterres highlighted the need for these plans to align with the 1.5°C target, urging major economies, especially G20 members responsible for around 80% of emissions, to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors.

The report indicates that existing, affordable technologies could facilitate the necessary emissions reductions to meet the 1.5°C limit. Significant reductions of up to 31 gigatons of CO₂ by 2030 and 41 gigatons by 2035 are achievable through enhanced solar and wind energy usage, which could contribute 27% of the total reduction in 2030 and 38% by 2035. Additionally, forest conservation could provide around 20% of the necessary reductions.

However, the report also cautions that achieving these goals will require unprecedented international cooperation and a comprehensive approach from governments. This includes maximizing socioeconomic and environmental benefits while minimizing trade-offs, emphasizing the need for immediate and concerted global efforts to address climate change.

World Food Programme has voiced concern over Lebanon’s ability to feed itself, saying thousands of hectares of farmland across the country’s south has been destroyed or abandoned due to Israeli attacks.

“Agriculture-wise, food production-wise, (there is) extraordinary concern for Lebanon’s ability to continue to feed itself,” Matthew Hollingworth, WFP country director in Lebanon, told a Geneva press briefing, adding that harvests will not occur and that produce is rotting in fields.

At the same briefing, World Health Organization official Ian Clarke in Beirut warned that there was a much higher risk of disease outbreaks among Lebanon’s displaced population.

“We are facing a situation where there is a much higher risk of disease outbreaks, such as acute watery diarrhoea, hepatitis A, and a number of vaccine preventable diseases,” Clarke said.

Israeli warplanes have carried out a series of air strikes in several areas across Lebanon, including Beirut’s southern suburb.

According to Lebanon’s official National News Agency, the warplanes targeted the Tahouitet al Ghadir area near Beirut’s airport and the Burj al Barajneh area, both in Beirut’s southern suburb areas.

Earlier, the news agency reported Israeli air strikes in several areas and towns around Tyre city in southern Lebanon.

It added that at dawn, the Israeli warplanes struck several villages in the Baalbek district in eastern Lebanon, including the Younine village and Nabi Chit town.

The UN health agency said on Friday that it had approved the use of the first diagnostic test for mpox, a key tool in countries battling outbreaks.

More than 800 people have died across Africa from mpox, where the disease has been officially detected in 16 countries, according to the African Union’s disease control centre.

“The approval for emergency use” of the test “will be pivotal in expanding diagnostic capacity in countries facing mpox outbreaks, where the need for quick and accurate testing has risen sharply”, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement.

The test, called the Alinity m MPXV assay and manufactured by Abbott Molecular Inc, enables the detection of the mpox virus from swabs taken from human lesions.

“By detecting DNA from pustular or vesicular rash samples, laboratory and health workers can confirm suspected mpox cases efficiently and effectively,” the WHO said.

“Limited testing capacity and delays in confirming mpox cases persist in Africa, contributing to the continued spread of the virus,” it said.

The approval of the test “represents a significant milestone in expanding testing availability in affected countries”, the statement quoted Yukiko Nakatani, an assistant director-general of WHO, as saying.

“Increasing access to quality-assured medical products is central to our efforts in assisting countries to contain the spread of the virus and protect their people, especially in underserved regions,” Nakatani said.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.

It causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, and can be deadly.

GENEVA: World skiing‘s governing body joined forces with the UN‘s weather agency on Thursday in a bid to feed its meteorological expertise into managing the “existential threat” to winter sports posed by climate change.
Ski resorts around the world are increasingly being forced to confront the realities of a warming climate, with stations suffering from a lack of snow and a shorter season — and the knock-on economic impact for destinations reliant on winter tourism.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) hopes its cooperation with the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) weather and climate agency will give it a better outlook on the future for winter sports.
“The climate crisis is obviously far bigger than FIS — or sports, for that matter: it is a genuine crossroads for mankind,” the organisation’s president Johan Eliasch said in a statement.
“It is true, though, that climate change is, simply put, an existential threat to skiing and snowboarding. We would be remiss if we did not pursue every possible effort that is rooted in science and objective analysis.”
Eliasch, a Swedish-British multi-billionaire businessman and environmentalist, previously served as former British prime minister Gordon Brown’s special representative on deforestation and clean energy.
Cancelled races, artificial snow
In the organisations’ joint statement, the WMO said the impact of climate change was “becoming increasingly evident” on winter sports and mountain tourism.
Climate change poses a severe challenge to the sport of skiing, which already makes almost routine use of artificial snow for most World Cup, world championship and Olympic races — a practice that consumes vast amounts of water and energy.
At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the downhill skiing events took place in a region affected by drought and the pistes were entirely artificially generated — something roundly criticised by environmental organisations.
The so-called “White Circus” continually travelling between competitions around the world has also been condemned by environmentalists for its carbon footprint.
In 2023/24, the FIS organised 616 World Cup races across all disciplines, at 166 venues. Twenty-six races were cancelled for weather-related reasons.
The WMO and the FIS said they would work together to highlight the impacts of rising global temperatures on snow and ice, and set up practical ways to boost dialogue between science and sports.
“Ruined winter vacations and cancelled sports fixtures are — literally — the tip of the iceberg of climate change,” said WMO chief Celeste Saulo.
“Retreating glaciers, reduced snow and ice cover and thawing permafrost are having a major impact on mountain ecosystems, communities and economies and will have increasingly serious repercussions at local, national and global level for centuries to come.”
Frozen world a hot topic
The partnership marks the first time the WMO has struck a memorandum of understanding with a sports federation.
It comes days after the local assembly in the eastern French department of Doubs said a third of slopes would close at the Metabief ski resort, which needed to be swiftly repurposed away from an economic model that was “no longer viable” amid unreliable snowfall.
Councillor Raphael Krucien said: “We must start to mourn the loss of mid-mountain skiing, we must accept the consequences of climate change and seize the opportunity to transform this ski resort into a ‘mountain resort’,” even if the decision is “brutal”.
On November 7, the WMO and the FIS will host a webinar for all 137 national ski associations, plus venue managers and event organisers, on climate change and its potential impact on snow and ice and winter sports.
It will include an overview on advancing forecasting tools in support of optimising snow management around ski resorts.
Earlier this year, the WMO’s executive council decided to make the cryosphere — the frozen parts of the Earth — one of its top priorities, due to growing concerns over melting snow, ice and permafrost.
Around 70 percent of Earth’s fresh water exists as snow or ice, with around 10 percent of land covered by glaciers or ice sheets, meaning changes in the cryosphere will affect the whole planet.