A shocking new report is out just a week before the start of COP26 

Global greenhouse gas levels hit record highs last year despite coronavirus restrictions shutting down some of the world's biggest cities for months on end. 

The findings were published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in its latest Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, which measures global levels of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases. 

According to the WMO, the planet's carbon dioxide concentration reached 413.2 parts per million in 2020, which is 149 percent of pre-industrial levels. 

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The report also highlighted growing concern about the amounts of other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as methane and nitrous oxide. 

No "discernible impact"

After some of the largest countries in the world such as China and the U.S. brought in COVID-19 restrictions in the spring of 2020, there were suggestions that the pandemic could be an indirect boost for the environment. 

However, the WMO's report says the "economic slowdown from COVID-19 did not have any discernible impact on the atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases and their growth rates." It said there was only a "temporary decline in new emissions."

"Way off track"

The WMO has released its new report just a week before world leaders will start gathering in Glasgow in the UK for the COP26 climate change conference. The organization's Secretary-General says its findings demonstrate that global efforts to fight climate change are "way off track."

"The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin contains a stark, scientific message for climate change negotiators at COP26. At the current rate of increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, we will see a temperature increase by the end of this century far in excess of the Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. 

Vicious cycle 

Ahead of the pivotal conference in Scotland, activists such as Sweden's Greta Thunberg have insisted that the planet needs to "uproot the system" and make drastic changes to respond to the climate crisis. 

However, even if the world's politicians make dramatic progress in the upcoming COP26 talks, greenhouse gas levels will take decades to start declining. According to NASA, carbon dioxide can hang around in our atmosphere for between 300 and 1,000 years. 

The WMO is also concerned that climate change could undermine so-called "sinks" - such as rainforests - that absorb carbon dioxide. 

"More frequent droughts and the connected increased occurrence and intensification of wildfires might reduce CO2 uptake by land ecosystems," the organization warned.