OREANDA-NEWS. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continued to grow in 2020, despite many industry restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. As the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported on Monday, October 25, in Geneva, the CO2 level reached a record high, rising from 410.7 millionths (ppm) in 2019 to 413.2 ppm.

This figure corresponds to 149% compared to the pre-industrial period. In this regard, WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas warned that unless much tougher climate protection measures are taken than today, the world will not be able to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature rise within 2 degrees.

According to the WMO, the increase in CO2 concentration last year turned out to be more significant than the average for the period from 2011 to 2020. Due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, in 2020 the volume of new emissions decreased by 5.6%, however, as indicated by the World Meteorological Organization, which is a specialized agency of the United Nations, this did not have a noticeable effect on the concentration of long-lived greenhouse gas in the atmosphere or on it's growth rate.