UN reports no consequential decrease in emissions of greenhouse gases during the pandemic

GENEVA: World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), a Geneva based United Nations agency, released a report stating that 2019 has witnessed larger annual increase in greenhouse gases as compared to previous years, beating the average recorded in the past decade. It added that greenhouse gases’ concentration rose again in 2020 despite an expected drop in emissions due to COVID-19 lockdowns. The annual report released by the WMO measures the atmospheric concentration of the gases including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – that are warming our planet and triggering extreme weather events.

WMO reported that levels of carbon dioxide touched a new record of 410.5 parts per million in 2019, a product of burning fossil fuels that is the biggest contributor to global warming. Professor Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, WMO, referring to rises since 2015, said, “Such a rate of increase has never been seen in the history of our records.” Citing initial readings from its Tasmania and Hawaii stations, he added that although global data is not yet available for 2020 but the trend of rising concentrations appears to be intact. The WMO is expecting annual global carbon emissions to fall this year due to COVID measures, and has ventured a preliminary estimate of between 4.2-7.5 per cent. However, the WMO described the projected 2020 drop as a “tiny blip” for it would not cause atmospheric carbon dioxide to go down, but would slow the rate of increase temporarily on a scale that falls within normal variations.