The UN weather agency is warning that carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere increased at record-breaking speed last year.

World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas says rapid cuts to CO2 and other greenhouse gases are needed to avoid "dangerous temperature increases" by 2100 that would far surpass targets set in the Paris climate accord.

He says "we are actually moving in the wrong direction."

The latest WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin released Monday says a strong El Nino and human activity contributed to an increase of CO2 concentrations to 403.3 parts per million last year, up from 400 in 2015.

"As far as direct and proxy observations can tell, such abrupt changes in the atmospheric levels of CO2 have never before been seen," the bulletin states.

WMO says the report breaks ground by showing the "global picture" on carbon levels. It hopes that will contribute to debate at a major climate conference in Bonn, Germany, starting next week.