Greenhouse Green Bulletin

• World Meteorological Organization recently released Greenhouse Green Bulletin 2023.
• It analyses data from the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• Heat trapping greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations reached a new record last year and continued to increase in 2023.
• Global averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most important greenhouse gas, in 2022 were a full 50% above the pre-industrial era for the first time.
• Methane and Nitrous Oxide concentrations increased by 264% and 124% respectively from pre-industrial levels in 2022.
  • Methane remains in the atmosphere for about a decade.
  • Methane accounts for about 16% of the warming effect of long-lived greenhouse gases while nitrous oxide accounts for about 7% of the radiative forcing.
• The (NOAA) Annual Greenhouse Gas Index shows that from 1990 to 2022, the warming effect on our climate called radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases increased by 49%, with CO2 accounting for about 78% of this increase.
• The climate system may be close to so-called “tipping points”, where a certain level of change leads to self-accelerating and potentially irreversible cascade of changes.

ABOUT WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION

• The World Meteorological Organisation is an intergovernmental organisation and specialised agency of the United Nations.
• Its mandate spans issues pertaining to weather, climate, and water resources.
• Established- 1950
• Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland.
• It has 187 Member States (including India) and 6 Member Territories.