Source:
ReutersCarbon dioxide at record high, stoking warming: WMOFri Nov 23, 2007 11:15am EST
By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
OSLO (Reuters) - Levels of carbon dioxide, the main
greenhouse gas emitted by burning fossil fuels, hit a
record high in the atmosphere in 2006, accelerating
global warming, the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) said on Friday.
But concentrations of methane, the number two heat-
trapping gas, flattened out in a hint that Siberian
permafrost is staying frozen despite some scientists'
fears that rising temperatures might trigger a runaway
thaw.
"In 2006, globally averaged concentrations of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere reached their highest levels
ever recorded," the WMO said. Carbon dioxide is the
main gas from human activities blamed by the U.N.
climate panel for stoking warming.
The WMO said levels rose 0.53 percent from 2005 to
381.2 parts per million of the atmosphere, 36 percent
above levels before the Industrial Revolution began
in the 18th century.
-snip-Read more:
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL2325800120071123