The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing faster than ever before.
Authorities say that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are increasing “faster than ever before,” surpassing anything humans have experienced so far.
It has been found that carbon dioxide, one of the primary contributors to the extraordinary increase in global atmospheric temperature, is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than ever before. Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have announced that carbon dioxide levels are rapidly rising far above anything experienced in human history.
The amount of carbon dioxide is increasing.
Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography have been independently monitoring atmospheric particles as part of the CO2 monitoring program known as the Keeling Curve since 1958. In their measurements conducted last May, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography detected the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere to be 426.7 ppm. This represents an increase of 2.92 ppm compared to the same period last year. May is known as the month when CO2 reaches its highest level in the Northern Hemisphere.
Scientists emphasize that the latest measurement marks the fifth-largest annual growth in the 50-year record. Meanwhile, the measurement in 2023 was 3.0 ppm higher than the previous year. When combined, these observations officially confirm that over the past two years, there has been the largest surge in CO2 levels at the May peak in the Northern Hemisphere.
In their statement, scientists say, “CO2 is not only at its highest level in millions of years but also increasing faster than ever before.” NOAA carbon cycle scientist John Miller stated that the surge is likely due to the continuous burning of fossil fuels and El Niño conditions making it difficult for the planet to absorb CO2.
It was also noted that the increase in carbon dioxide levels at the measurement station exceeds the global average, which reached a record level of 419.3 ppm last year. This is 50% higher than pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
This trend is not expected to change.
Ralph Keeling, the director of Scripps’ CO2 program, said, “CO2 is not only at its highest level in millions of years but also rising faster than ever before. The burning of fossil fuels, which releases pollution in the form of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, leads to a higher maximum level each year. Fossil fuel pollution continues to accumulate, much like garbage in a landfill.”
Like other greenhouse gases, CO2 acts like a blanket, preventing heat from escaping into space. The warming atmosphere exacerbates extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and storms, as well as intensifying rainfall and floods. This was confirmed by last year being recorded as the hottest year on record. There were a series of heatwaves, droughts, floods, wildfires, and storms worldwide last year. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service also recently stated that the Earth has reached record-high temperatures for 12 consecutive months and there is no sign of this trend changing.
