At a Glance

Greenhouse gas emissions are projected to reach the highest levels on record in 2018.37.1 billion tons of CO2 will be spewed into the atmosphere by the end of the year.India and China are the biggest culprits, with emission levels projected to rise 6.3 percent and 4.7 percent respectively.

Greenhouse gas emissions are projected to reach record levels in 2018 after seven years of stability, scientists said on Wednesday.

According to at least three studiesreleased this week, levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxidejumped significantly in 2018 at a rate described by scientists as a "," the New York Times reports.

Onestudy published Wednesday by theGlobal Carbon Projectsays carbon emissions are expected to in 2018, the highest level in seven years. Two other studies corroborate the findings. The scientists note that the final tally could put emissions anywhere from1.8 percent to 3.7 percent.

“We thought, perhaps hoped, a few years ago,” Rob Jackson, a professor of earth system science at Stanford and an author of the Global Carbon Project report, said in a press release. “After two years of renewed growth, that was wishful thinking.”

The findingswereannounced by scientists Wednesday at the U.N.'s 24th Conference of the Parties inKatowice, Poland, where world leaders, scientists and activists from around the world are gathered to hash out the implementation of the landmark 2015 Paris accord.

“We are in trouble. We are in deep trouble with climate change,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said this week at the conference.

According to thefindings, a record 37.1 billion tons of CO2 is projected to be spewed into the atmosphere by the end of the year.

India and China saw the highest rise in levels this year, with emission levels projected to rise 6.3 percent and 4.7 percent respectively.

Analysts suggest local Chinese governments may have on pollution and emission standards in response to a downturn in the country's economy, the New York Post reports.

China remains the largest emitting country with the United States coming in second.

Emissions in the U.S. are expected to rise 2.5 percent. The increase is linked in part to high-air conditioning use during a very warm summer and heat-use during a very cold winter in the Northeast. Low gas prices and larger vehicles also contributed to the rise inemission levels.

“We’re driving more miles in bigger cars, changes that are outpacing improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency,” Jackson said, noting that overall, U.S. oil use is on track to rise by more than 1 percent this year compared to 2017.

The researchers also place the blame on a renewed appetitefor oil by global consumers. More people are driving gasoline-fueled automobiles at longer distances than ever before.

“We’ve seen oil use go up five years in a row,” Jackson told the New York Times. “That’s really surprising.”

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A report released earlier this year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changesays coal use mustby 2050 tolimit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial levels, a target set by the 2015 Paris Accord. Another report by the U.N. released last week said meeting theis an "impossible" task.

“It is hard to overstate the urgency of our situation,” Guterres told conferenceattendees this week. “Even as we witness devastating climate impacts causing havoc across the world, we are still not doing enough, nor moving fast enough, to prevent irreversible and catastrophic climate disruption.”