CO2 levels grew at record pace in 2016: United Nations

The amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere grew at record rate in 2016 to a level not seen for millions of years, the United Nations said on Monday.

It said this has the potential to fuel a 20-metre rise in sea levels and add 3 degrees Celsius to temperatures.

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main man-made greehouse gas, hit 403 parts per million (ppm), up from 400 in 2015, the UN World Meteorological Organization said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. That growth rate was 50% faster than the average over the past decade, driving CO2 levels 145% above pre-industrial levels and further outside the range of 180-280 ppm seen in recent cycles of ice ages and warmer periods.