Monday 9 May 2022 10:23 AM Earth's CO2 hits highest recorded level in human history trends now
Earth's carbon dioxide levels have hit the highest recorded level in human history, new data shows.
For the first time on record, monthly average carbon dioxide (CO2) levels exceeded 420 parts per million (ppm) in April, their highest peak since accurate measurements began 64 years ago.
They even reached 421.33 ppm on one day last week, as greenhouse gas emissions continue to soar around the world.
Teenage climate campaigner Greta Thunberg said that if the levels were confirmed then it would be 'truly groundbreaking to say the least. And I don't mean that in a good way...'
The finding comes from long-running records taken at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s weather station on Mauna Loa, Hawaii.
Earth's carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have hit the highest recorded level in human history, new data shows. For the first time on record monthly average CO2 levels eclipsed 420 parts per million in April (pictured), their highest peak since accurate measurements began in 1958
Instruments on the mountaintop observatory also recorded last year as the first to have atmospheric CO2 surpass pre-Industrial Revolution levels by more than 50 per cent
Teenage climate campaigner Greta Thunberg said that if the levels were confirmed then it would be 'truly groundbreaking to say the least. And I don't mean that in a good way...'
Atmospheric CO2 is one of major causes of climate change and has been driven in large part by the burning of fossil fuels worldwide (stock image)
Data collected by instruments on the mountaintop observatory also reveals that last year was the first in which atmospheric CO2 surpassed pre-Industrial Revolution levels by more than 50 per cent.
Its highest month, May, hit 419.13 ppm, while 20 years ago the highest month of the year had 375.93 ppm.
In 1958, when scientists first began collecting CO2 data at Mauna Loa, the highest month of the year had just 317.51 ppm.
These CO2 levels fluctuate throughout the year, with highs around late spring.
This is because of the Northern Hemisphere's seasons — as the northern summer comes in, increased plant growth pulls a lot of carbon out of the atmosphere, dropping levels lower.
Atmospheric CO2 is one of major causes of climate change and has been driven in large part by the burning of fossil fuels worldwide.
NOAA said CO2 is currently rising about 100 times faster than other periods in geological history that have seen more natural increases in carbon dioxide.
This is all despite a temporary reduction in global emissions in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, when lockdowns across the world enforced a global shutdown.
Although Earth saw a huge spike in carbon dioxide emissions during the pre-industrial era, the recent analysis suggests our modern world is much
