US scientists made the crucial measurement at a federal laboratory located at an altitude of 11,135 feet (3,397 metres).
Because of its remote location in the Pacific Ocean, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory, located high above Hawaii, is tasked with taking daily measurements of unpolluted air. On June 6, NOAA announced: Greenhouse gas carbon dioxide “It is accumulating in the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate and is exponentially increasing to levels never seen before in human history.”
The atmospheric CO2 concentration in May of this year reached 427 ppm, an increase of about 3 ppm from May of last year (CO2 concentrations peak every year in May, Natural global variations), a new record high. Furthermore, if the increase from 2022 onwards is also included, it will be the largest increase in CO2 emissions in a two-year period on record.
The laboratory’s continuous records clearly show how the atmosphere has changed since the late 1950s. The air layer is preserved Ancient Antarctic and Greenland ice cores; Other environmental observationsThe changes that have taken place over the past 150 years or so are profound: atmospheric CO2 has skyrocketed.
“Not only are carbon dioxide levels at their highest in millions of years, but they’re rising faster than ever before,” said Ralph Keeling, director of the Scripps Carbon Dioxide Program, which oversees the atmospheric monitoring program. statement“The burning of fossil fuels releases pollutants into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, and the peak levels are rising every year. Like trash in a landfill, fossil fuel pollution just keeps building up.”
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The most distant photograph of Earth ever taken
It’s not hard to imagine that a change this big would have big effects. Sure, carbon dioxide is considered a “trace gas” in an atmosphere dominated by nitrogen and oxygen. But in our physical reality, it’s common for low concentrations of a substance to have outsized effects.
“Over the past year, we have seen the hottest year on record, the hottest ocean temperatures on record, and a seemingly endless series of heat wavedroughts, floods, wildfires and storms,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a statement. Climate Change Trends: “2023 will be the warmest year for Earth since modern records began around 1880, making the past 10 consecutive years the warmest decade on record.” NASA noted.
The first graph below shows that atmospheric CO2 levels have been rising continuously since 1958. The second graph compares this recent increase with the past 800,000 years.
NOAA graph showing monthly average carbon dioxide measurements since 1958 at Mauna Loa Observatory.
Credit: NOAA Earth Monitoring Laboratory
![CO2 levels in Earth's atmosphere over the past 800,000 years.](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/articles/05UToZA3ZUB4HNW0QfLvABl/images-2.fill.size_2000x1025.v1717792923.png)
CO2 levels in Earth’s atmosphere over the past 800,000 years.
Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography
But the important thing is, Civilizations are not inherently extinctClimate scientists stress: We are not unhappy. There are energy options Can Mitigating the worst effects of climate changeSpecifically, this will be achieved by significantly limiting the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere.
For now, this and other monitoring stations will continue to record hard facts about the atmosphere.