GENEVA, Nov 9 : Concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit a new high in 2014, the UN said on Monday, warning the resulting climate change was moving the world into "unchartered territory".
In its annual report on Earth-warming greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the World Meteorological Organization said concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide once again broke records last year.
"We are moving into unchartered territory at a frightening speed," WMO chief Michel Jarraud said in a statement.
The report came as country envoys Monday gathered in Paris to iron out tough political questions ahead of a key summit tasked with sealing a climate rescue pact. "Every year we report a new record in greenhouse gas concentrations," Jarraud said.
"Every year we say that the time is running out. We have to act now to slash greenhouse gas emissions if we are to have a chance to keep the increase in temperatures to manageable levels," he warned.
His appeal comes just weeks before a Paris summit aimed at ensuring global warming is limited to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels. Jarraud said that CO2, by far the main culprit in global warming, can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years and in the ocean even longer.
"Past, present and future emissions will have a cumulative impact on both global warming and ocean acidification," he said, stressing "the laws of physics are non-negotiable."    ?AFP