climate change
Agreement on global monitoring of greenhouse gases
A “CO2 bomb” symbolically hangs on a stick before the start of a demonstration in Saxony. photo
© Frank Hammerschmidt/dpa
In Geneva, the 193 member states of the World Weather Organization (WMO) agreed on a system to bring existing measurements on earth and using satellites under one roof.
Global monitoring of greenhouse gases is to be improved with a new international initiative. As the World Weather Organization (WMO) announced on Wednesday, its 193 member states in Geneva decided on a system to bring existing measurements on earth and using satellites under one roof.
According to the WMO, there has not yet been a comprehensive and rapid exchange of such information at international level. In addition, knowledge about the flow of CO2 between the atmosphere and natural reservoirs such as oceans, forests and permafrost is still incomplete.
With the initiative “Global Greenhouse Gas Watch” (global greenhouse gas monitoring), CO2, methane and nitrous oxide are to be monitored around the world in the future. Monthly reports on the gas flows with a resolution of 100 by 100 kilometers are to be created.
According to the WMO, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is at its highest level in the past 800,000 years. Man-made emissions of such chemicals are responsible for climate change.