Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are surging “faster than ever” to beyond anything humans ever experienced, officials say

One of the main drivers of exceptional heat construction in Earth’s atmosphere has reached levels beyond anything humans have ever experienced, authorities announced On thursday. Carbon dioxidethe gas that is responsible for most of global warming caused by human activities, is accumulating “faster than ever before,” scientists from NOAA, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California San Diego have found.

“Last year we experienced the hottest year ever recorded, the highest ocean temperatures on record, and a seemingly endless series of heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires and storms,” ​​said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad in a press release. “Now we are discovering that Atmospheric CO2 levels are rising faster than ever.”

Researchers measured carbon dioxide, or CO2, levels at the Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory. They found that atmospheric levels of the gas reached a seasonal peak of just under 427 parts per million in May – an increase of 2.9 ppm since May 2023 and the fifth-largest annual increase in 50 years of data recording.

It also made it official that in the last two years we have seen the biggest jump at the peak of May – when CO2 levels reach their highest levels in the Northern Hemisphere. John Miller, a carbon cycle scientist at NOAA, said the jump likely stems from the continued and unrestrained burning of fossil fuels, as well as El Nino conditions that make the planet’s ability to absorb CO2 more difficult.

The increase in carbon dioxide levels at the measuring station even exceeded the global average set last year, which was a record of 419.3 ppm – 50% higher than before the Industrial Revolution. However, NOAA noted that its observations were made specifically at the observatory and do not “capture CO2 changes worldwide,” although global measurements have been shown to be consistent without those at Mauna Loa.

CO2 measurements “send ominous signals”

In its press release, NOAA said the measurements are “sending ominous signals.”

“Not only is CO2 now at its highest level in millions of years, it is also rising faster than ever before,” said Ralph Keeling, director of the Scripps CO2 program, in the statement. “Each year reaches a higher maximum due to the burning of fossil fuels, which releases pollution in the form of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Fossil fuel pollution continues to accumulate, just like trash in a landfill.”

Carbon dioxide “acts like a blanket on the atmosphere,” NOAA explained — like other greenhouse gases that amplify the Sun’s heat toward Earth’s surface. Meanwhile carbon dioxide is essential by keeping global temperatures above freezing, having such high concentrations raises temperatures beyond comfort and safety levels.

This heating is fueling extreme weather conditions events, and the consequences are already being felt, with deadly floods, hot flashes and droughts that devastate communities around the world and agriculture seeing difficult changes.

The NOAA news comes a day after the European Union’s climate change service, Copernicus, announced that Earth has now reached 12 consecutive months of record temperaturesa trend with “no sign of changing”.

“We live in unprecedented times. This series of warmer months will be remembered as comparatively cool,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus.