A new report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reveals that the Earth experienced its largest annual spike in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in 2015, eclipsing the data seen in every other year thus far. The findings point to higher levels of global warming pollutants in the atmosphere and don't bode well for the health of our planet's environment.
Despite the efforts of many countries to cut down on the emission of the greenhouse gases that continue to support global warming, the atmosphere is not seeing results as of yet. Furthermore, frequent heat waves, raising sea levels and the destabilization of parts of Antarctica and Greenland continue.
The data was gathered at the NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii and found that CO2 concentration increased by 3.05 parts per million (ppm) during 2015, the largest increase over the time period of a year in 56 years of research. Furthermore, data that goes back as far as 800,000 years shows that current CO2 levels are the highest in human history.
"Carbon dioxide levels are increasing faster than they have in hundreds of thousands of years," said Pieter Tans, head of the NOAA's Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network. "It's explosive compared to natural processes."
One factor that has caused an increase in CO2 levels over the years is the wildfires that were caused by El Niño's warming effects. Since increased atmospheric CO2 levels leads to increased heat, this caused a vicious cycle that continues to exacerbate already detrimental climate conditions.
Nevertheless, the main factor driving the long-term increase of carbon dioxide emissions is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.
Although CO2 levels continue to rise, global annual emissions of greenhouse gases are reported to have stalled or fallen slightly in 2015, meaning global efforts to reduce their presence are working. However, even a slight drop in greenhouse gases will not have a significant impact on CO2 levels in the atmosphere - it will take a continuous effort over the years in order for this to happen.
"Time will tell whether this surprising interruption in emissions growth is transitory or a first step towards emissions stabilization," the authors wrote.
