No sign of greenhouse gases increases slowing in 2023

Levels of the three most important human-caused greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—continued their steady climb during 2023, according to NOAA scientists. While the rise in these heat-trapping gases recorded in the air samples collected by NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory in 2023 was not quite as high as the record jumps observed in recent years, they were in line with the steep increases observed during the past decade.

Women’s History Month 2024: What it means to me

March is National Women’s History Month, an opportunity to celebrate pioneering women in American history, while turning an eye to the contributions women are making—and will make—to society, especially in career fields historically inaccessible to women. In this video series, #WomenOfNOAA share advice they would give to their younger selves.

Women’s History Month: A Conversation With Dr. Xin Lan

This article continues a series of interviews with NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO) employees and CPO-funded scientists in celebration of Women’s History Month. Dr. Xin Lan is a carbon cycle scientist with NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) through the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) of University of Colorado Boulder.

Top NOAA Research stories from 2023

Record-breaking marine heatwaves, increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, an above average hurricane season, and numerous deep sea discoveries made 2023 a busy year for NOAA Research. Let’s explore some of our top stories from this year!

One year after the eruption, Mauna Loa Observatory has resumed key science activities

Over the past year since the eruption of Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island on Nov. 27, 2022, MLO staff visiting the site once a week via helicopter have restored limited power to four key observatory buildings by augmenting existing solar generation and adding battery systems.

Record fossil carbon dioxide emissions impeding progress on meeting climate goals: report

Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are projected to reach a record 36.8 billion metric tons in 2023, an increase of 1.1% over 2022, according to an annual report by the Global Carbon Project. While emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are declining in some regions including Europe and the United States, they continue to rise overall, the authors said, adding that global action to reduce fossil fuel consumption is not happening fast enough to prevent dangerous impacts from climate change.

Biden-Harris Administration releases Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Strategy

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration released a conceptual framework for a national system to measure, monitor and share information related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet U.S. commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement. NOAA will commit its long-established, state-of-the-art capabilities in observation, modeling and data analysis to support this whole-of-government effort.

NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory supports the nation’s greenhouse gas monitoring strategy

NOAA will commit its long-established, state-of-the-art capabilities in observation, modeling, and data analysis—including several major initiatives from NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML)—to support the new U.S. Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Monitoring, and Information System.

NOGAP survey completed its first flights to document greenhouse gas distribution across the U.S.

The National Observations of Greenhouse gasses Aircraft Profiles (NOGAP) survey completed the first of six loops around the United States to document and understand in great detail the vertical distribution of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) in the lower atmosphere.

NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory releases CarbonTracker-Methane 2023

Scientists in the Global Monitoring Laboratory released NOAA’s latest global atmospheric methane assimilation/flux inversion system, CarbonTracker-CH4 2023.

50th anniversary of CO2 measurements at NOAA’s Barrow Observatory

July 24, 2023 marked the 50^th anniversary of continuous measurements of CO₂ in the atmosphere at the Barrow, Alaska Atmospheric Baseline Observatory.

Broken record: Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels jump again

Carbon dioxide levels measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory peaked at 424 parts per million in May, continuing a steady climb further into territory not seen for millions of years, scientists from NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography offsite link at the University of California San Diego announced today.

NOAA index tracks how greenhouse gas pollution amplified global warming in 2022

Greenhouse gas pollution from human activity trapped 49 percent more heat in the atmosphere during 2022 than those same gases did in 1990, according to an annual NOAA report. NOAA’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index, known as the AGGI, tracks increases in the warming influence of heat-trapping gases generated by human activity.

#EarthDay: Invest in our changing planet now to secure a more livable future

Since the first Earth Day, billions across the globe have invested their time, creativity and energy to honor and nurture our home planet. In the decades since April 22, 1970, however, global climate change has had an alarming effect on Earth and its inhabitants. So how is NOAA addressing climate change and other environmental challenges?

Greenhouse gases continued to increase rapidly in 2022

Levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide, the three greenhouse gases emitted by human activity that are the most significant contributors to climate change, continued their historically high rates of growth in the atmosphere during 2022, according to NOAA scientists.