Global levels of the powerful, but short-lived greenhouse gas methane in the atmosphere have risen to a record level in the past year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Thursday, concerned about the large role methane plays in climate change.
The provisional concentration of methane in air grew by 17 parts per billion, reaching 1895.7 parts per billion last year.
The production and use of fossil fuels accounts for almost one-third of global methane emissions.
NOAA has monitored methane in the air since 1983.
‘Our data show that global emissions continue to move in the wrong direction at a rapid pace,’ NOAA spokesman Rick Spinrad said in a statement.
The annual average for carbon dioxide in 2021 was 414.7 ppm.
While both methane and CO2 heat the atmosphere in one place, the two greenhouse gases are not the same.
NOAA also said carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rose 2.66 parts per million during the past year by 2020 — one of the biggest rises in history, but no record.
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