Carbon dioxide levels highest in 800,000 years

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🗞️ Driving the news: A new U.N. World Meteorological Organization report reveals that carbon dioxide levels have reached their highest point in 800,000 years, with 2023 also marking the warmest year on record
• Ocean heat and global sea levels hit all-time highs, while sea ice continues to decline

🔭 The context: The report underscores accelerating climate change, with all ten of the hottest years recorded within the past decade
• The Paris Agreement aimed to limit warming to 1.5°C, but 2023 breached this with a global average of 1.55°C above preindustrial levels. Inadequate early warning systems were highlighted as a key vulnerability

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: These trends reflect escalating risks to ecosystems, weather patterns, and human livelihoods, especially through rising displacement from extreme weather events
• Failure to act jeopardises climate stability and sustainable development

⏭️ What's next: Despite surpassing critical temperature thresholds, the WMO maintains that limiting long-term warming to 1.5°C is still feasible if global action intensifies
• Investment in clean energy and early warning infrastructure is seen as vital

💬 One quote: “Our planet is issuing more distress signals — but this report shows that limiting long-term global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres

📈 One stat: Carbon dioxide levels are now the highest they’ve been in 800,000 years

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