Carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere has now hit the highest levels in all of human history
- For the first time in human history atmospheric carbon has hit 415 ppm
- The level exceeds a prior spike 3 million years ago during the Pilocene Epoch
- Increases correlate with failures to meet emission benchmarks across the world
In a new and disconcerting milestone for human-induced climate change, Earth’s concentration of CO2 has reached levels never before seen in human history.
According to measurements from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, atmospheric CO2 has hit 415 parts per million, eclipsing record highs recorded in Arctic Ice samples that date back 800,000 years.
The precedent was noted on Twitter via Eric Holthaus, a meteorologist and journalist for the online magazine, Grist.
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Emissions behind climate change have hit another new high according to meteorologist and writer, Erich Holthaus. Carbon dioxide is the biggest contributor to climate change around the globe and stays in the atmosphere for many years after its emitted
‘This is the first time in human history our planet’s atmosphere has had more than 415 ppm CO2,’ said Holthaus in a tweet.
‘Not just in recorded history, not just since the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago. Since before modern humans existed millions of years ago.’
As noted in a report from CNN, the levels exceed a peak from about 3 million years ago during the Pilocene Epoch, when atmospheric CO2 reached between 300-400 million ppm with temperatures of about 2-3 degrees Celsius warmer than today’s.
Carbon dioxide is the biggest contributor to climate change around the globe and stays in the atmosphere for many years after its emitted, making it possible for the effects to compound over long periods of time.
Even if the world were to stop emitting CO2 altogether, gases could continue to warm the planet for centuries say some researchers.
The measurements were taken by Scripps researchers at a lab in Hawaii and were spotted by Holthaus this week. Atmospheric CO2 measured by the Mauna Loa Observatory last week is plotted in the graph above
Record levels of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere mirror a slew of recent climate-related news that portend major changes to the makeup of natural environments and societies across the globe.
A recent study from the U.N. found that even if the emission reductions kept stride with the Paris Agreement, a global climate accord that brought together 174 states around the world, the world’s temperature would still continue to rise between 3-5 degrees Celsius throughout the next 30 years.
Glaciers continue to recede across the world as the climate warms and ocean levels rise. File photo
That temperature uptick spells out a host of issues for a rapidly melting Arctic and global sea level rise that could displace millions of people across the world.
According to U.N. Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, members of the Paris Agreement are far from meeting the aggressive hurdles outlined in 2016, including China and the U.S. who account for about 40 percent of the world’s emissions alone.
‘Climate change is running faster than what we are … The last four years have been the hottest registered,’ Guterres said in a recent trip to New Zealand.
In 2017 US President Donald Trump announced his intention to pull out of the Paris Agreement, choosing not to meet reduction standards outlined by the accord.
The existential threat posed by unmitigated climate change to humans and all other species was highlighted in more recent blockbuster report from the U.N. that said 1 million species are at risk of extinction due to human activity.
