The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in May last year reached levels 50% higher than in the pre-industrial era, and has not been previously recorded on the planet for almost four million years, according to the US agency and Oceanic. and the Atmospheric Office clarified. The US Compatriot believes that the reason for this new rise is human-induced global climate warming, the most important of which are transportation, cement production, deforestation, and electricity generation using fossil fuels, and May is usually the month in which the highest levels of carbon dioxide are recorded every year.
On May 1, 2022, the concentration of carbon dioxide exceeded the threshold of 420 parts per million (ppm), which is a unit of measurement used to determine the amount of air pollution, in May 2021 this figure was 419 parts per million. million, and in 2020 it was 417 parts per million.
The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research explained that carbon dioxide levels had been constant before the industrial revolution at about 280 parts per million and had remained that way for the previous period of about six thousand years.
The administration said in a statement that the levels recorded today are close to those that existed “from 4.1 million to 4.5 million years ago, when carbon dioxide levels were about 400 parts per million or more.”
According to studies, at that time the sea level was 5-25 meters higher than today, and in some parts of the Arctic there were extensive forests.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps heat, gradually causing global warming, and remains in the atmosphere and oceans for thousands of years.
The Department of Oceanography and Atmosphere recalled that this warming is beginning to lead to dire consequences, including the spread of heat waves, droughts, fires and floods. “Humanity has never known levels of carbon dioxide that exist today,” Peter Tans of the department said in a statement. “We’ve known about this for half a century and couldn’t do anything about it. Why do we need to wake us up?”
