2021 between the seven warmest years that happened when greenhouse gases increased

The last seven years have been the hottest in modern history while 2021 has been the fifth hottest day due to the rise of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, sparking controversy. natural disasters.

New data released by Copernicus, a European monitoring program, showed that last year global temperatures were 1.1-1.2C higher than the industrial average (1850-1900), making it slightly colder than 2019 and 2020 but still warmer than decades ago.

Climate change is the cause of global warming, says Vincent-Henri Peuch, director of Copernicus’ meteorological project.

“Cases of carbon dioxide and methane continue to increase year on year and without signs of decline,” Peuch said. “The warming atmosphere is what drives climate change.”

Atmospheric levels of methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide, took place last year – the fastest rise since the satellite measurement began.

Human activities are responsible for the increase in methane emissions due to oil extraction, waste disposal, and cattle farming, but natural sources of methane, such as wetlands, are also rising.

The reasons for the increase are not clear, Copernicus said.

The levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also skyrocketed in the modern year 2021, reaching 414 million units, according to the latest data. This represents an increase of about 50 percent compared to the previous period.

As economic activity expanded last year, global emissions from fossil fuels were on the rise about 4.9 percent, following a 5.4 percent decline in 2020 due to epidemic prevention, according to a study by the Cicero Center for International Climate Research in Oslo.

“It was surprising that so many of the records we saw were cracked in 2021,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus climate change service, referring to examples such as forest fires in Europe and climate change in Canada.

“As we live in the heat, it means that the risk of these accidents is increasing,” he added. “We know the air continues to rise, so hopefully by 2022 we will see more breakthroughs.”

Last summer was the hottest season in Europe, and the continent suffered a number of weather-related disasters including floods in Germany and Belgium in July.

The region is also experiencing tropical cyclones across the Mediterranean, with a new European record of 48.8C set in Sicily.

Temperatures across the Pacific Northwest, Canada and Greenland were also surprisingly hot last year. North America’s wildfires caused large amounts of carbon dioxide to escape from forest fires – about 83m tons of carbon dioxide, the highest ever recorded.

A special weather forecast for 2021 from the UK Met office and from the US NOAA is expected in the coming days.

Carlo Buontempo, executive director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, said that temperatures continue to rise without reducing emissions.

“These experiences are a clear reminder of the need to change our ways, to take positive and effective action, and to reduce carbon emissions,” he said.

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