The UN is worried about a new record of concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The organization recalls that without reducing these gases, the consequences of global warming will be irreversible. Nothing indicates a reversal of the trend.
Greenhouse gases, at the origin of global warming, have crossed new peaks of concentration in the atmosphere in 2017, worried on Thursday the UN, which calls for urgent action to reverse the trend . "The scientific data is unequivocal. If greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO2, are not reduced quickly, climate change will have irreversible and increasingly destructive consequences for life on Earth, " said Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of the United Nations. UN agency dedicated to the world weather.
No reversal of the trend
According to the UN agency, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), three greenhouse gases, increased further last year. to reach "new records" around the globe.
And "there is no evidence of a reversal of this trend, which is the driving force behind climate change, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and increasing numbers and intensities. extreme weather, " says WMO.
CFC-11: a powerful greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gases capture a portion of the solar radiation passing through the atmosphere, which in turn heats up. This phenomenon, called "radiative forcing" by experts, has increased by 41% since 1990. And CO2 is by far the main cause of this warming.
Experts also observed last year an "unexpected" upsurge of a potent greenhouse gas reducing the ozone content, CFC-11 (trichlorofluoromethane), the production of which is governed by an international agreement to protect the environment. ozone layer.