The global atmospheric CO2 growth rate (CGR) in 2024 reached a historic high of 3.73 ppm yr-1, significantly surpassing the previous record set during the 2015/16 El Niño event.

We find that the record-high CGR was due to large reductions in the land CO2 sink. This was dominated by a dramatic increase in total ecosystem respiration (TER), which occurred primarily in grass and shrub lands, owing to hot-wet conditions and increased autotrophic respiration associated with increased GPP.

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