France, Oct. 16 -- Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by a record amount in 2024, reaching the highest concentration ever measured and locking the planet into more long-term warming, the UN weather agency warned on Wednesday.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said the rise was fuelled by human-caused emissions, massive wildfires and a drop in the ability of forests and oceans to absorb carbon - a feedback loop that scientists fear could make climate change spiral faster.

From 2023 to 2024, the global average concentration of carbon dioxide surged by 3.5 parts per million (ppm), the biggest increase since records began in 1957.

The annual growth rate has now tripled since the 1960s, climbing from 0.8ppm per year to...