El Niño may push CO2 levels to record high

CO2 levels in the atmosphere have never been higher and it looks like it may pass the point of no return within the month. Image INQUIRER.net

Despite the obvious changes in global temperature, some still deny the impact that humans have on global warming. Still others even deny global warming itself. But scientific data have uncovered that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the Earth’s atmosphere is about to reach the 400 parts per million threshold this month.

Recent measurements from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii found that apart from the 25-percent increase in human emissions, the El Niño phenomenon appears to be intensifying the rise in CO2 in the atmosphere, reports Engadget.

The most troubling part is that CO2 levels are unlikely to dip below the 400ppm mark for a very long time to come. If anything, it is a clear sign of how dire our situation is.

Effects of this increase in CO2 levels may not be felt immediately, but they will definitely occur later on as CO2 continues to be pumped into the atmosphere at a steady rate.

Governments need to push harder to reduce greenhouse emissions to at least minimize the impact and pave the way for lowering CO2 levels in the future. Scotland has already achieved success in this endeavor as it announced that the country has managed to lower its emissions by 45.8 percent from the 1990 level. This is also six years ahead of its 2020 plan to lower emissions by 42 percent.  Alfred Bayle