Scientists have reported the biggest increase in worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, and as a result, the atmospheric heat-trapping gasses reached an all-time high. This jump matches the fact that Earth is passing by its 11th consecutive month of record-high temperatures and a series of disasters driven by climate change.

Ralph Keeling, who leads the CO2 Program at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the University of California, San Diego, said that his team has been following carbon dioxide levels at Mauna Loa Observatory since the 1950s and said “It's a new milestone and it helps reinforce the point that CO2 is still rising faster than ever overall in the atmosphere.”

In March, the average amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 4. 7 ppm higher than in March 2023, and thus a new record was set with 425. 22 ppm. In the late 1950s, when scientists first started tracking global CO2 levels, the levels were around 315 parts per million. Generally, CO2 levels reach their highest point in the spring as a result of the plant growth in the Northern Hemisphere since plants take up the gas during the summer. Thursday, the levels had gone up to 427. 48 ppm. 

Several factors have played a role in the unprecedented increase. El Nino, the natural climate pattern causing warming in the eastern tropical Pacific, has persisted since last year. This alteration in ocean temperatures affects global weather, causing drought in numerous tropical regions. The dry conditions and heat from El Nino reduce plant growth, resulting in less CO2 absorption. Additionally, heightened wildfire activity releases more CO2 into the air.The burning of fossil fuels is yet another significant source of emission. Emissions had their highest point last year and they soared to 36. 8 billion metric tons. This growth has led to the augmentation of CO2 levels in the atmosphere, intensifying a collection of disasters like heat waves, heavy rainfall, wildfires, and floods. It has also intensified certain of the effects of El Nino. 

The conclusions drawn by Keeling and his team are derived from data collected at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. Scripps has been consistently monitoring CO2 levels there for many years, establishing the most comprehensive record of greenhouse gas concentrations globally.Keeling said “The emissions from the tropical forests are superimposed on these very large emissions from fossil fuel burning, which is bigger than ever. It's not that El Nino events are unusual, it's that fossil fuel burning is unusual in a historical sense. It's an extreme. It's never been higher.

In November, a volcanic eruption at Mauna Loa temporarily halted observations, leading to data collection from December 2022 to February 2023 at the nearby Mauna Kea. Scripps has said that the statistics from both sites are the same, therefore, the researchers can be sure in their findings. Air samples taken from the archeological frozen ice indicate that the CO2 levels were around 278 ppm before industrialization.

The atmospheric CO2 concentrations are most likely to have been at this level for at least 3 million years. This current year's extraordinary climb demonstrates the necessity for a huge cut in the emission of greenhouse gases in order to reduce the already intolerable effects of the climate change.