Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane–two of the primary gasses causing global warming–rose steeply last year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA scientists released their findings in an annual update to the agency´s greenhouse gas index, which tracks data from 60 sites around the world.
Global CO2 levels increased by 0.6%, or 19 billion tons, and methane rose by 27 million tons.
The rise in methane is especially worrisome, as those levels have remained relatively stable for the last decade, according to the NOAA. Researchers suggested that rapid industrialization in Asia and rising wetland emissions in the Arctic and tropics are likely causes of the increase.
In the past, researchers have said that as tundra areas of the arctic thaw, as a result of global warming, even higher levels of methane will escape into the atmosphere, compounding the rate of warming and setting into motion a cycle that could be irreversible.
Loading...