Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory is home to the longest-running records for measuring CO₂ in our atmosphere. The first measurements go back to March of 1958 thanks to a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a full 16 years before the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) started its own CO₂ measurements in 1974. The two groups have maintained those measurements since and while six decades of records still constitute just a blip on the timeline of Earth’s lifespan, they are the best database we have to observe man’s influence on CO₂ concentrations.
On Wednesday, the NOAA and Scripps reported that “CO2 concentrations increased more rapidly than they have in the first four months of any other year” between January and April. They noted that this surge — the fastest ever — comes despite recent data that shows fossil fuel emissions have plateaued in recent years.
View this post on Instagram
“Over the past (12 months), we’ve experienced the hottest year on record, the hottest ocean temperatures on record and a seemingly endless string of heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires and storms,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “Now we are finding that atmospheric CO2 levels are increasing faster than ever. We must recognize that these are clear signals of the damage carbon dioxide pollution is doing to the climate system, and take rapid action to cut fossil fuel use as quickly as we can.”
The absorption of CO₂ into the ocean contributes to ocean acidification as well as adding fuel to weather events like heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and precipitation. And although emissions may have plateaued in the recent past, researchers argue that the buildup from previous decades is still a factor.
“Not only is CO2 now at the highest level in millions of years, it is also rising faster than ever,” said Ralph Keeling, director of the Scripps CO2 program. “Each year achieves a higher maximum due to fossil-fuel burning, which releases pollution in the form of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Fossil fuel pollution just keeps building up, much like trash in a landfill.”
