Firefighters from both civilian and military units in the United States are racing against time to control the wildfires raging in Los Angeles, California, which have already caused billions of dollars in damage. These fires have been burning for 10 days and contribute significantly to the overall impact of wildfires on global warming rates.
According to a report published by The Guardian, wildfires worldwide in 2024 have led to a record annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, surprising scientists. This data suggests that humanity is sinking deeper into a world increasingly affected by extreme weather events.
According to the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, carbon dioxide levels rose by 3.6 parts per million to reach 427 parts per million. This figure is significantly higher than the 280 parts per million recorded when discussions about the climate change crisis began. The Mauna Loa observations, known as the Keeling Curve, have been ongoing since 1958 and represent the longest-running direct measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
Sharp Increase in CO2 Levels
The sharp increase in carbon dioxide was caused by forest fires combined with ongoing emissions from fossil fuels, both of which reached record levels in 2024. El Niño also contributed to the global warming by creating hotter and drier conditions in the tropics. It is a global climate phenomenon that causes the Pacific jet stream to move south and spread further east. During winter, this leads to wetter conditions than usual in the Southern U.S. and warmer and drier conditions in the North. However, scientists noted that the record increase would have likely occurred even without El Niño.
Global average temperatures also reached a new record in 2024, exacerbating heatwaves, storms, and floods that have affected billions of people. As a result, the planet has surpassed the 1.5°C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warming target set in the Paris climate agreement for the first time. This 1.5°C limit is a long-term goal and is exceeded when that level of warming is maintained for a decade or more. Scientists have indicated that the rise in carbon dioxide levels in 2024 is incompatible with efforts to stay below this target. Although the rise in CO2 levels is expected to be lower in 2025, it will still remain well above the level needed to meet the 1.5°C target.
In 2024, wildfires released billions of tonnes of CO2, particularly impacting the Americas. The ongoing climate crisis has made these wildfires more intense and frequent. While El Niño played a role, wildfires continued to occur after the initial fires were extinguished, even in unaffected areas such as Canada.
El Niño also contributed to the record CO2 increase because the hot, dry conditions it brings limit the growth of plants that typically remove some of the carbon dioxide produced by human activities from the atmosphere.
The 3.6 parts per million increase of CO2 in 2024 was double the 1.8 parts per million increase aligned with a net-zero emissions path to limit global warming to 1.5°C. This rise was also higher than the Bureau of Meteorology’s forecast of 2.8 parts per million for 2024, likely due to wildfire emissions reaching Mauna Loa. In 2025, the increase is expected to be around 2.3 parts per million, as La Niña, the opposite phase of El Niño, encourages more vegetation growth.
