“We don’t know a planet like this.”
" Levels of the damaging greenhouse gas carbon dioxide have reached an alarming new milestone at the world’s oldest measuring station in Hawaii.
The Mauna Loa Observatory, which has measured the
parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the atmosphere since 1958, took a
reading of 415.26ppm in the air on 11 May – thought to be the highest
concentration since humans evolved.
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography measures CO2 levels at Mauna Loa daily.
The observatory, on Hawaii’s largest volcano, was built to test air
quality on the remote Pacific islands because it is far from continents
and pollution, while the area lacks vegetation, which can interfere with
results.
The readings form the Keeling curve, which shows
the rapid increase in CO2 levels in the atmosphere as a result of human
activity.
The 1958 readings showed the concentration of CO2 was 313ppm in March 1958, and that had risen to 400ppm by May 2013.
Meteorologist Eric Holthouse retweeted the Mauna
Loa readings and said: “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.
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