The increase in levels of carbon dioxide, the primary gas responsible for global warming, has recently reached its biggest ever recorded surge, according to analysts scrutinizing the incessant accumulation of this gas in the Earth’s atmosphere. March this year exhibited a record-breaking increment in CO2 levels at 4.7 parts per million (ppm) higher than that of the previous March – the largest increase over a year-long period.
The surge can be attributed to the cyclical El Niño weather phenomenon, now in decline, as well as to the continuous and growing emission of greenhouse gases due to fossil fuel burning and deforestation.
The momentum of this increase throughout the first quartile of the present year is significantly noteworthy, according to Ralph Keeling, head of the CO2 Programme at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. He pointed out that both the carbon dioxide concentrations as well as the rate of their increase are setting new records.
The planetary CO2 data, since 1958 when measurements began, has been gathered from a base atop the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. Initiated by Charles Keeling, Ralph Keeling’s father, measurements have indicated a continuous rise in CO2 concentrations each succeeding year. This increment in carbon dioxide levels – an outcome of increasing emissions from vehicles, power plants and other sources, resulted in a new record in annual emissions last year.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicated in June that the global concentration of CO2 had reached a 50% height compared to pre-industrial times, hitting 421ppm – the highest in several million years. The recent reading at Mauna Loa puts the world’s CO2 concentration at approximately 426ppm.
Before the introduction of large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere due to human activity in the form of burned fossil fuels, CO2 levels stayed around 280ppm throughout approximately 6,000 years of human civilization.
The precipitous incline in this gas that traps heat portends catastrophic climatic repercussions such as severe heatwaves, flooding, drought, and wildfires. Recent studies suggest that the last time CO2 levels were this high was about 14 million years ago, a period during which the climate was extremely dissimilar to the present-day, almost alien to current human comprehension.
Mr Keeling signified his apprehension that, while a temporary surge in global temperatures brought on by a recent El Niño event caused CO2 to spike to a greater degree than the previous record in 2016, the typical annual growth rate of 2-3ppm may resurface after the fulfilment of the event. However, he highlights that this offers little reassurance due to the continuous rise of CO2 levels, which need to decline to stabilise our climate. He expresses his sadness and concern about the fact that these levels are increasing, rather than decreasing, due to human activities, stating that this upward trajectory is deeply upsetting – Guardian.