ChinaFactoryPollution

Carbon dioxide levels hit 403 ppm last year—the highest in about 4 million years

403.3 ppm

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased from 400 parts per million in 2015 to 403.3 parts per million in 2016.

Published   |  Photo by AP Photo/Andy Wong
ChinaFactoryPollution
403.3 ppm

Unless emissions are cut dramatically, the CO2 levels guarantee temperature increases “well above” the upper limits set out in the Paris agreement by the end of the century.

ChinaFactoryPollution
403.3 ppm

Carbon dioxide levels have ranged mostly between 180 ppm to 290 ppm over the past 800,000 years.

ChinaFactoryPollution
403.3 ppm

The last time the planet had those levels, four millions of years ago, it was 2-3 °C warmer. The ice in Greenland and parts of Antarctica melted and the seas rose by 10 to 20 meters.

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