Global carbon dioxide levels hit a new record in 2017, U.N. says

GENEVA (Reuters) - The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit a new record of 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up from 403.3 ppm in 2016, with no sign of reversal in the trend, the World Meteorological Organization said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

“The science is clear. Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth. The window of opportunity for action is almost closed,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.

The WMO said the rate of increase was in line with the average growth rate over the last decade.

(Reporting by Tom Miles; editing by Stephanie Nebehay)