WMO - Atmospheric CO2, Nitrous Oxide Hit All-Time Record Highs In 2005 - Reuters

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GENEVA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit a record last year and are likely to keep rising unless emissions are radically cut, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said in a report on Friday.

The U.N. weather agency found that the so-called "mixing ratios" of carbon dioxide reached an all-time high of 379.1 parts per billion in 2005, and the global average for nitrous oxide hit a record 319.2 parts per billion.

"It looks like this will continue like this for the foreseeable future," Geir Braathen, senior scientific officer at the Geneva-based organisation, said of the rise, which extended the steady upward trend seen in recent decades. "At least for the next few years, we do not expect any deceleration in the concentration," he said.

Scientists say the accumulation of such gases -- generated by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas -- traps the sun's rays and causes the temperature of the Earth to rise, leading to a melting of polar ice caps and glaciers, a spike in extreme weather, storms and floods, and other environmental shifts that are expected to worsen in coming years.

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