Record rise in greenhouse gases

Atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming are rising faster and faster, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has warned.

Concentrations of carbon dioxide and other gases reached record highs in 2010, the WMO said, with atmospheric CO2 reaching 389 parts per million (ppm) – a rise of 23 per cent since precise measurements began in 1958, when the figure stood at 315ppm.

The rate of the rise is steadily increasing. Concentrations of CO2 went up by 2.3ppm between 2009 and 2010. The average annual rise in the 1990s was 1.5ppm.