EAU CLAIRE (WQOW) - Carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere continue to set records, crossing new thresholds for the first time in recent history.
When you hear scientists talk about climate change, you'll often hear them talk about carbon dioxide concentrations in our atmosphere. That's because as concentrations rise, so does the amount of energy in our atmosphere, leading to warmer temperatures and more extreme weather.
Scientists measure carbon dioxide in parts per million, and earlier this month, for the first time on record atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations surpassed 420 ppm on two different days.
This number isn't just a new record. It means we are more than halfway to doubling the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere that there was at the time of the industrial revolution.
Since then, we've been dumping carbon into the atmosphere at increasingly higher rates, as concentrations skyrocket at rates and to levels we haven't seen in 800,000 years of record-keeping.
"While we've seen an increase of 140 parts per million over pre-industrial concentrations, in my own lifetime, we've seen almost 100 of that 140," said James Boulter, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UW-Eau Claire. "Most of that increase has been within my lifetime, and our lifetimes."
Since 1958, scientists have been measuring carbon dioxide concentrations from an observatory on top of Mauna Loa, Hawaii. They are also able to piece together data going back 800,000 years by sampling air bubbles trapped in ice in Greenland and Antarctica.
Scientists say if current emissions trends continue, carbon dioxide concentrations could be double pre-industrial levels within 55 years.
There are things we can do to to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases entering our atmosphere. Boulter's advice is to do what you can, where you can.
This can include swapping old appliances for more efficient versions when it's time to replace them, and contacting your elected officials to act on climate issues.
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April 21, 2021 at 10:51AM
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Carbon dioxide levels continue to break records - WQOW TV News 18
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