Sunday, June 1, 2014

Carbon Dioxide Levels Rise Above 400 Parts Per Million

By Climate Himalaya

The World Meteorological Organization has warned that carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have gone higher than 400 parts per million (ppm) in the Northern Hemisphere. The readings were measured for the entire month of April and it has happened for the first time when such a level has been reached by carbon dioxide an entire hemisphere. This is certainly not scintillating as rising levels of carbon dioxide, which is a green house gas, increases the intensity of global warming.

About 200 years ago, levels of carbon dioxide concentrations were believed to be around 240 ppm, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recommended levels below 450 ppm for earth to stay protected from the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

The 400 ppm level was recorded for the first time in the Arctic two years ago. The WMO has now claimed that average levels of carbon dioxide will go above 400 ppm all over the world sometime in the next two years and will keep on increasing. It is almost impossible to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide once it crosses 400 ppm mark, but curative, urgent actions can prevent them from rising further.

United Nations climate talks are scheduled to start on June 4 in Bonn in order to reach a global agreement to battle climate change next year.

In recorded history, April was the first month for which average carbon dioxide levels were detected to be at or above 400 parts per million across the Northern Hemisphere, said the World Meteorological Organization in a May 26 announcement.

Increasing levels of green house gases have devastating ramifications for civilians, with extreme weather events to occur more often. Extreme weather events lead to more droughts, heat waves, and rising sea levels.

Carbon Dioxide Levels Rise Above 400 Parts Per Million