Carbon dioxide levels surge in atmosphere, to new all-time high

Carbon dioxide levels rose this year at the fourth-highest rate since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began keeping records 65 years ago, reaching a record high of 424 PPM in May, according to a report released yesterday by NOAA and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, The Washington Post’s Amudalat Ajasa reports.

The current amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now double the amount it was before the industrial era, averaging 424 parts per million, NOAA and Scripps scientists said.

The findings are “disappointing, but not surprising,” said Ralph Keeling, a geochemist at Scripps. “We’re still seeing CO2 rise at the same pace as it has for the last few decades.”

CO2 emissions are already exacerbating extreme weather events, including heat waves, drought, wildfires and flooding. Meanwhile, last year was declared the fifth- or sixth-warmest year on record by five different scientific organizations.

From WaPo Climate 202