14 DAY TRIAL // It might be that we're trying to switch from dirty fossil fuels to renewables, but as it turns out, we're not doing it fast enough. Hence the fact that, a couple of months back, global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide hit a record high.
According to a new report produced by NOOA researchers, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide surpassed 400 parts per million on a global scale in this year's March.
True, carbon dioxide levels of over 400 parts per million have several times been reported in recent years. Still, these figures were only confined to a few regions across the globe.
This past March, however, such elevated concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide were documented for the entire planet. As explained by NOAA scientists, this constitutes a world first.
“For the first time since we began tracking carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere, the monthly global average concentration of this greenhouse gas surpassed 400 parts per million in March 2015,” the scientists said in a statement.
More CO2 in the atmosphere means a warmer planet
In their report, the NOAA specialists behind this investigation explain that, since pre-industrial times until now, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide have increased by about 120 parts per million. Much of the rise was documented after 1980.
Interestingly, it appears that this increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in our planet's atmosphere correlates with a 1.6-degree Fahrenheit (0.9-degree Celsius) rise in the average global temperature.
This just goes to show that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are drivers of climate change and global warming, and that the key to limiting these phenomena is cutting emissions by embracing green energy sources.
“Elimination of about 80 percent of fossil fuel emissions would essentially stop the rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” NOAA specialist James Butler told the press in an interview.
Come May, researchers expect that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide will drop to a certain extent, possibly below the 400 parts per million threshold. This will happen because plants in the northern hemisphere will at long last bloom and remove some of this gas from the air.
