GENEVA — Concentrations of the three main heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere all climbed to record highs in 2025, the World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday, Oct. 27, in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, CBS News reported.
Carbon dioxide averaged 426.8 parts per million, methane 1,948 parts per billion and nitrous oxide 339.1 parts per billion — about 153%, 267% and 126% of their levels before 1750. Carbon dioxide alone accounts for roughly two-thirds of the warming effect.
“Another year, another new record,” said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett, noting that the past 11 years have been the warmest on record.
CO2 rose 2.8 ppm from 2024 to 2025, less than the record 3.6 ppm jump the year before, which WMO scientist Oksana Tarasova attributed to land carbon sinks recovering and fewer fire emissions after the 2023-24 El Niño. It is still above the past decade’s average annual rise of 2.6 ppm.
The bulletin, which measures what remains in the atmosphere rather than yearly emissions, comes ahead of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, Nov. 9-20.
Sources: CBS News. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: NOAA Research cover image / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
