The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has reached record levels

Humanity has broken another record. The concentration of CO2 recently recorded at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii reached 415.26 ppm (parts per million). According to scientists, the last time there were such levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was before man appeared.

Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Mauna Loa station have been measuring carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere since 1958. Although these measurements have been made for a relatively long time, theoof the period, then researchers on the basis of at least the analysis of ice cores, specifically the bubbleoin air trapped in ice, are able to estimate what CO2 levels were in the atmosphere in distant epochs.

During the ice ages, scientists say, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were around 200 ppm. And during interglacial periods it was about 280 ppm. Meanwhile, since the beginning of measuringoAt Mauna Loa, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are increasingofossil fuel by 100 ppm. And the rate of increase in CO2 concentration has not been decreasing. According to the worst-case scenario, we will reach 1,000 ppm by the end of the century.

Humans burn fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphereow greenhouse. To date, global temperatures have risen by about 1 degree Celsius since the time of theoin the pre-industrial revolution. But despite the 195 country’s signatureoin the world of the Paris Agreement, ktore mowi o reduce gas emissionsoin the greenhouse and keeping the increase in global temperature (because it can’t be stopped) much lower than 2 deg. Celsius, and preferably a maximum of 1.5 st. Celsius, not much is being done about it.

– Every year the concentration of CO2 increases by about 3 ppm. It’s simple math, we’ll exceed 450 ppm in just over a decade – said Michael Mann of Pennsylvania State University, and added that this is causing a clear change on the planet – glaciers shrink, coral reefs whiten or heat waves intensifyow. – Carbon dioxide levels higher than 450 ppm are likely to lead to irreversible changes in our climate – Mann admitted in an interview with the Live Science website.

– CO2 levels will continue to rise because not enough is being done around the world, said Donald Wuebbles of the University of Illinois. – The long-term increase is due to emissions related to human activities, especiallyolarity from burning our fossil fuels,” he added.

As noted by Jonathan Overpeck of the University of Michigan, the last time atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were this high, there were no Homo sapiens yet, dense forests grew in Antarctica, and the level of morz was much higher than it is today.