Hawaii’s Mauna Loa observatory, which has taken measurements since 1958, averaged 419 parts per million (ppm) for the past month, according to the US Agency for the weather, Climate and Oceanography (NOAA) announced on Monday.
May is usually the month with the highest carbon dioxide levels of the year. In May of last year, the average value was 417 ppm. “We add about 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year,” said NOAA scientist Peter Tans. “If we are to avoid catastrophic climate change, the top priority must be reducing carbon dioxide pollution to zero in As soon as possible.”
Researcher: The CO2 values were very high more than four million years ago
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been above 400 parts per million since May 2013. Despite the Paris climate agreement and growing public awareness of the problem, more carbon dioxide is being released each year. The decline at the height of the epidemic last year was also unsustainable.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), CO2 values were last as high as 4.1 to 4.5 million years ago. At that time, sea level was 23.5 meters higher than it is today, the average temperature was about four degrees Celsius higher than in pre-industrial times, and there are huge forest areas in the polar tundra today.
