Atmospheric methane levels surged by a record-breaking amount in 2021, NOAA says
CBSN
The atmospheric concentration of methane — a greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming — increased by a record amount in 2021 for the second year in a row, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday. Levels of carbon dioxide also increased at a "historically high rate," NOAA said.
A preliminary analysis showed atmospheric methane levels increased by 17 parts per billion (ppb) in 2021, which NOAA said was "the largest annual increase recorded since systematic measurements began in 1983." Atmospheric methane levels averaged 1,895.7 ppb in 2021, which is approximately 162% higher than pre-industrial levels.
NOAA's findings also provided alarming news about carbon dioxide, which it said was the primary contributor to human-caused global warming. Last year was the 10th year in a row that saw a more than 2 parts per million increase, which NOAA said is the "fastest sustained rate of increase in the 63 years since monitoring began." Approximately 36 billion tons of carbon dioxide were emitted due to human activity in 2021, NOAA said.
A major outage of Sony's PlayStation Network (PSN) on Saturday has left tens of thousands of gamers unable to access online services, stores and multimedia apps.
Three more Israeli hostages were released Saturday in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners as the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas continued to hold. It was the fifth hostage and prisoner exchange to occur as part of the first phase of the deal, which began on Jan. 19.
London — The International Criminal Court on Friday condemned sanctions imposed on its officials by President Trump. The United Nations court, which is in the Hague, Netherlands, said the U.S. measures were intended to "harm (the Court's) independent and impartial judicial work."
Washington — President Trump is holding a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba Friday, as Japan's Nippon Steel hopes the Trump administration will allow a $14.1 billion bid for U.S. Steel to move forward, despite Mr. Trump's previous pledge to block the deal.
Beijing — China on Friday lashed out at what it called U.S. "coercion" after Panama declined to renew a key infrastructure agreement with Beijing following Washington's threat to take back the Panama Canal. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a briefing that China "firmly opposes the U.S. smearing and undermining the Belt and Road cooperation through means of pressure and coercion."
The man is insistent: Our ship is in difficulty, so keep your distance, he instructs another vessel over the radio.
Abdul Fatorma, chief executive of the Campaign for Human Rights and Development International, had been working on expanding democracy in Sierra Leone for seven years.
A semi-submersible vessel loaded with over 5,000 pounds of cocaine was intercepted off the Pacific coast of Colombia, the country's navy said Wednesday. Officials said it marked the nation's first seizure of a so-called "narco sub" this year.
Bogota — Cocaine "is no worse than whiskey" and is only illegal because it comes from Latin America, said Colombian President Gustavo Petro during a live broadcast of a government meeting.
Australia-based scientists said Thursday they had produced the world's first kangaroo embryo through in vitro fertilization and hailed it as a key step towards saving endangered marsupials.
London — The Herculaneum scrolls have remained one of the many tantalizing mysteries of the ancient world for almost 2,000 years. Burnt to a crisp by lava from Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, the reams of rolled-up papyrus were discovered in a mansion in Herculaneum — an ancient Roman town near Pompeii — in the mid-18th century. Both towns were decimated by the Vesuvius eruption, and most of the scrolls were so badly charred they were impossible to open.
London — Tourists continued to flee the Greek island of Santorini on Wednesday — a fourth consecutive day of exodus sparked by a series of earthquakes that have rattled the incredibly popular European vacation destination. Around 7,000 people have left the island, which sits southeast of Greece's mainland, since the quakes began last week, according to the AFP news agency.
The United States Postal Service announced Tuesday night that it is temporarily suspending accepting packages sent from China and Hong Kong until further notice.