Earth Stores More Heat as Marine Heatwaves Increase

The Earth is absorbing more energy than ever before, a consequence of rising greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report presented at the UN Climate Conference in Bonn. The annual report, serving as an interim assessment for the IPCC, highlights that global emissions in 2024 reached approximately 56.8 billion tons of CO2 equivalent. This surge in emissions has led to a significant increase in atmospheric concentrations of gases like CO2 and methane.

The report details a growing energy imbalance within the Earth's system, where more energy enters than leaves. This imbalance has more than doubled between 1976–1995 and 2006–2025, reaching 1.04 watts per square meter. Scientists attribute this to both increased greenhouse gas concentrations and a decrease in cooling aerosols. The rate of global warming has also accelerated, with a calculated increase of 0.27 degrees Celsius per decade for 2016-2025, up from 0.23 degrees per decade in 2010-2019.

Oceans are bearing the brunt of this excess heat, having absorbed about 90 percent of it since the 1970s. This has resulted in a drastic warming of ocean waters and a rise in the frequency of marine heatwaves. The report's co-author, Thomas Frölicher from the University of Bern, summarized the situation, stating, "We are emitting more greenhouse gases than ever before. This leads to an increase in greenhouse gas concentrations like CO2, methane, or nitrogen in the atmosphere. And because of this, we are storing more heat in the Earth system and throwing the world out of balance."