Greenhouse gas levels reached a new high in 2010.

CO2-levels have increased at an accelerating rate, primarily because of emissions from combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation and changes in land-use.

According to WMO, World Meteorological Organization of the UN, carbon dioxide levels have increased by 39% since the start of the industrial era. The rate of increase has accelerated: Between 2009 and 2010 the atmospheric abundance increased by 2.3 parts per million – higher than the average for both the 1990s (1.5 parts per million) and the past decade (2.0 parts per million).

“The atmospheric burden of greenhouse gases due to human activities has yet again reached record levels since pre-industrial time,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “Even if we managed to halt our greenhouse gas emissions today – and this is far from the case – they would continue to linger in the atmosphere for decades to come and so continue to affect the delicate balance of our living planet and our climate.”

Carbon dioxide is the single most important man-made greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, making the work of Build with CaRe more urgent than ever.

More information from the WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin can be found here.