As climate change continues to worry environmentalists all across the globe, new data from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii has shown that the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) level has surpassed the 415 parts per million on Friday. It should be noted that this is for the first time that carbon dioxide level has reached such a height, and experts reveal that it is perhaps the highest ever recorded in human history.
Experts believe that the earth has not contained such carbon dioxide levels in the last three million years. During those ancient days, planet earth was much warmer, and there were forests growing in Antarctica.
Ralph Keeling, the director of carbon dioxide program at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography that runs the Mauna Loa Observatory revealed that the new rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels can be linked to the increased use of fossil fuels and a mild El Nino.
Eric Holthaus, a meteorologist, and writer at Grist, an online environmental magazine also shared his worries about the new development and claimed that such a rise was ever recorded after the arrival of humans in the planet.
"This is the first time in human history our planet's atmosphere has had more than 415ppm CO2. Not just in recorded history, not just since the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago. Since before modern humans existed millions of years ago. We don't know a planet like this," wrote Eric Holthaus on his Twitter page.
A few weeks back, another study report published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters had indicated an all-time peak in carbon dioxide levels in the coming years which the earth has never witnessed in the last 56 million years. The study also warned that earth will face a mass-extinction event if humans fail to control the rising CO2 levels.
