News
Carbon-Dioxide Level in Atmosphere Hits Historical High
The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose to a record in April, according to measurements of the heat-trapping gas at an observatory high on Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano. The level during the month averaged 420 parts per million, scientists said Thursday.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
State of Play
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.