By Jackson Ryan
Greenhouse gas concentrations (click here) continued to rise in 2018, with carbon dioxide levels hitting an all-time high of 407.8 parts per million (ppm), according to a report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Monday. The grim assessment comes just days before the UN Climate Change conference begins on Dec. 2, highlighting the increasing levels of three greenhouse gases contributing to global heating as a result of human activities.
The last time the Earth had comparable concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was approximately 3 million years ago, when the temperature was approximately 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer and sea levels were up to 20 meters (65 feet) higher.
"There is no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline, in greenhouse gases concentration in the atmosphere despite all the commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change," said Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the WMO, in a press release....
