Record Levels Of C02 In Atmosphere

2016 saw a record increase in C02 -the stuff plants need to survive -in the atmosphere at 50% higher than the average of the past ten years. Research proves a culmination of human activities and the El Nino weather phenomenon drove C02 to a level that hasn't been seen in almost 1 million years. The reality here, climate change is real and it is the product of natural courses AND humans most certainly have an effect on that change.

According to scientists, the possibility of reaching global tempurature targets is essentially impossible now. The greenhouse gas bulletin that provided this information is based on measurements taken from 51 countries and many research stations all around the world. The stations measure concentrations of warming gases including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, all components that are closely connected to the weather.

<img src="https://media.8ch.net/file_store/2e6c796f3322ebe7871d1a3154f94bd39f104ac0b03607db2a2a7fe3850f9655.jpg" style="max-height:640px;max-width:360px;">

<span style="margin-top:15px;rgba(42,51,6,0.7);font-size:12px;">Credit: ESRL/GMO/BBC</span>

While emissions human sources have slowed the last couple years, Dr Tarasova says that doesn't really matter since C02 stays active and aloft in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. And if you had any doubt that humans were affecting the weather too let's just put that to rest because the last 70 years has seen a 100 fold increase in C02 compared to the last ice age. Those years that increased the C02 totals by 100 times are all after the industrial revolution.

The data is very alarming to the experts in atmospheric research and they say it could unleash a vicious cycle where methane drives up temperatures which will then release more methane in a snowballing effect. Professor Euan Nisbet from Royal Holloway University of London, UK, says "The rapid increase in methane since 2007, especially in 2014, 2015, and 2016, is different. This was not expected in the Paris agreement. Methane growth is strongest in the tropics and sub-tropics. The carbon isotopes in the methane show that growth is not being driven by fossil fuels. We do not understand why methane is rising. It may be a climate change feedback. It is very worrying. The numbers don't lie. We are still emitting far too much and this needs to be reversed."

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Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41778089