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The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a report on Friday that it had a high concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in May, about 50 percent higher than it had been before the industry and nearly four million years ago. Although the authority has speculated on the causes of climate warming, especially as a result of transportation, cement production and deforestation activities, it is recalled that the event began to lead to “severe consequences”, most notably heat waves, droughts, fires and floods.
Carbon dioxide concentration Atmosphere Last May, the industry was 50 percent higher than it had been before, and it had not been recorded on the planet for nearly four million years, a U.S. company said Friday.
Explained U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The cause of this new upsurge is global warming caused by human activities, the most important of which are transportation, cement production, deforestation and the generation of electricity using fossil fuels.
May is usually the year with the highest levels of carbon dioxide.
In May 2022, the concentration of carbon dioxide exceeded 420 parts per million (ppm), the unit of measure used to detect the amount of air pollution. In May 2021, the rate was 419 parts per million, and in 2020 it was 417 parts per million. These measurements are taken by the Mauna Loa Laboratory in Hawaii, which is built on a high ground, which avoids being affected by local pollution.
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explained that before the Industrial Revolution, the amount of carbon dioxide was stable at about 280 parts per million, up from about six thousand years earlier.
“From 4.1 to 4.5 million years ago, carbon dioxide levels were 400 parts per million or more,” the U.S. agency said in a statement. At that time the sea level was five to 25 meters higher than it is today, and according to studies, there were vast forests in some parts of the Arctic.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps heat, causing gradual global warming, and has been present in the atmosphere and oceans for thousands of years.
The Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned that this warming could lead to adverse effects such as heat waves, droughts, fires and floods. “Mankind does not know the levels of carbon dioxide as it does today,” management’s Peter Dance said in a statement. “We have known this for half a century. We have failed to do anything about it. Why should we wake ourselves up?”
France 24 / AFP
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