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A new report says dominant greehhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide – reached levels not seen in 800,000 years in 2018.
The American Meteorological Society’s State of the Climate in 2018 report was compiled by 470 scientists in 60 countries. In addition, it says global average sea level rose to a new record high in 2018, and upper ocean heat content reached record highs in 2018.
This is significant, as oceans absorb the vast majority (more than 90 percent) of the Earth’s excess heat from climate change. According to scientists, this data highlights the irreversible impact of human activity on the environment.
‘Warmest years’
“This places 2018 as having the fourth warmest annual global temperature since records began in the mid- to late 1800s. The four warmest years on record have all occurred since 2015,” the American Meteorological Society, led by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said in a statement.
“There were also more high, and fewer low, temperature extremes than in nearly the entire 68-year extremes record.
“Several markers such as sea level and greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere once again broke records set just one year prior.”
