May is generally the month with the highest concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere each year
The level of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 50% higher in May than in the pre-industrial era, which has never been recorded on Earth for about 4 million years, the US Scientific Service warned on Friday.
Anthropogenic global warming, mainly through the production of energy through the burning of fossil fuels, through transportation, through the production of cement, or even through deforestation, is clearly responsible for this record, the US Ocean Observatory said. and the Atmosphere (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAAadministratively reports to the Ministry of Commerce).
May is generally the month with the highest concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere each year.
This year, the barrier of 420 parts per million (ppm), a unit of measurement used to assess air pollution, was exceeded. In May 2021, the index was at 419 ppm, in 2020 at 417.
The measurements were made at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, located at the top of the volcano, which means they were not affected by the local infection.
Before Industrial Revolutionthe CO2 level was permanently around 280 parts per million in the approximately 6,000 years of human civilization, according to NOAA.
“Today’s level is ‘comparable’ to that recorded 4.1 to 4.5 million years ago, when CO2 levels were close to or above 400 ppm,” the agency said in a statement.
At that time the sea level was 5 to 25 meters higher, which means that many of today’s big cities were under water. While large forests covered areas of the Arctic, according to studies.
CO2 is a gas that gradually causes the phenomenon of global warming, as it traps heat. It remains in the atmosphere and oceans for millions of years.
Global warming is already having dramatic consequences, NOAA recalls, including the multiplication of heat waves, droughts, fires and floods.
Now «carbon dioxide is at a level that our species has never experienced before and this is not new“, Commented Peter Tans, a NOAA scientist, according to the announcement. «We have known this for half a century and we have not done anything substantial. What will need to be done to wake up?»
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in covering health news. I am also an author at News Bulletin 247. I am highly experienced and knowledgeable in this field. I am a hard worker and always deliver quality work. I am a reliable source of information and always provide accurate information.
