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WMO n° 801
WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin 2006:
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Levels Highest on Record
Geneva, 23 November 2007 (WMO) – In 2006, globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere reached their highest levels ever recorded. The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) 2006 Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, published today, says it reached 381.2 parts per million (ppm), up 0.53 per cent from 379.2 ppm in 2005.
The information is based on observations from the WMO Global CO2 and CH4 Monitoring Network, a comprehensive climate network recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The latest Bulletin precedes WMO’s participation and co-sponsorship of the 50th Anniversary of the Global Carbon Dioxide Record Symposium and Celebration (Kona, Hawai, 28-30 November 2007) and in the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Bali, Indonesia, 3-14 December 2007).
After water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are the three most prevalent greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere respectively. Greenhouse gases are major drivers of global warming and climate change. Concentrations of N2O also reached record highs in 2006, up 0.25 per cent from 319.2 parts per billion (ppb) to 320.1 ppb while methane remained almost unchanged at 1782 ppb.
The 36 per cent rise in CO2 since the late 1700s has largely been generated by emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels. Around one third of N2O discharged into the air is a result of human activities such as fuel combustion, biomass burning, fertilizer use and some industrial processes. Human activity such as fossil fuel exploitation, rice agriculture, biomass burning, landfills and ruminant farm animals account for some 60 per cent of atmospheric CH4, with natural processes including those produced by wetlands and termites responsible for the remaining 40 per cent.
Accurate atmospheric observations made globally by some 44 WMO Members are archived and distributed by the World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG), located at the Japan Meteorological Agency.
WMO prepares the Greenhouse Gases Bulletin in cooperation with WDCGG and the Global Atmosphere Watch Scientific Advisory Group for Greenhouse Gases with the assistance of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA-ESRL).
A remarkable development in 2007 was the launch by the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of CarbonTracker, a global carbon cycle modelling tool that converts surface-based global greenhouse gas observations into best estimates of global distribution in the atmosphere and the net air-surface exchange of carbon dioxide.
For the full Bulletin: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/ghg/ghgbull06_en.html
Information about the CO2 -50 Years celebration & Symposium on the global carbon dioxide record: http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news_members/newsfromMembers_en.html
and http://www.co2conference.org
Media contact: Anatta, NOAA Communications, + 1 303-497-6288,
For more information please contact:
Ms Carine Richard-Van Maele, Chief, Communications and Public Affairs, WMO.
Tel:+41 (0)22 7308315(office); +41 (0)79 4064730 (cell) E-mail: r
Website: http://www.wmo.int