The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit a new record again last year and an upward trend is in sight. According to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization, global average concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most important greenhouse gas, were a full 50 percent higher in 2022 than in the pre-industrial era for the first time. They continued to rise in 2023. The rate of growth in CO2 concentrations was slightly lower than the previous year and the 10-year average, according to the WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. However, it said this was most likely caused by natural short-term changes in the carbon cycle and that new emissions from industrial activities continued to rise. Methane concentrations have also risen, and levels of nitrous oxide, a third major greenhouse gas, saw their highest year-on-year increase on record from 2021 to 2022, according to the Greenhouse Bulletin, which is published to inform the United Nations climate change talks, or COP28, in Dubai. (Olushola Bello)