The concentration of greenhouse gases in the air has reached one and a half times what it was before the industrial revolution, says the World Meteorological Association.
After the record peak already reached last May, The level of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere also reached a record average of 407,8 parts per million last year, it announced yesterday in a report the World Meteorological Association.
The results “highlighted the clear and growing gap between agreed goals to tackle global warming and the actual reality”says the note, among other things.
The C02 shows no sign of going down, as if nothing had happened
The increase in CO2 levels in the atmosphere from 2017 to 2018 was “just above average over the past decade,” according to the WMA press release. The result puts the total gas concentration at almost 150% more than in 1750, before the Industrial Revolution which evidently accelerated the rate of carbon emissions.
The concentrations of two other major greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide also increased last year at a rate above the decade average.
CO2 in the atmosphere does not slow down
“There is no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline, in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Despite all the commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change“. This was stated by the Secretary General of the WMO Taalas Petteri in the organization's statement.
“It is worth remembering that the last time Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 it was 3-5 million years ago. Back then, the temperature was 2-3 ° C warmer, the sea level was 10-20 meters higher than now. ”
The current concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is the closest thing to a “Doomsday Clock”. Yes, more than atomic weapons. A clock that gets ever closer to midnight.
Our ability to preserve civilization as we know it, avoid mass species extinction, and leave a healthy planet for our children depends on our ability to stop in time.
