Despite the pandemic, Carbon Dioxide levels have hit a record high since accurate measurements began 63 years ago, said scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The global economy has been at a halt for over 15 months now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite airplanes lying idle and highways being quiet, there has barely been a dent in the accumulation of Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

While global leaders are making big promises of controlling the greenhouse gas levels, it will take an inordinate amount of effort over a sustained period of time to turn this climate change tide that we are facing.

This topic was also discussed by the G-7 nations at a major climate change conference in Glasgow in November.

Ralph Keeling, a geochemist at Scripps said that burning fossil fuels is the main cause of this and that we need to significantly reduce this over a sustained period of time to contain the emissions. Per the data shared by scientists, atmospheric carbon dioxide is said to have peaked in May with an average of 419 parts per million. When compared to May 2020 it was 417 parts per million.

Despite the pandemic the emissions fell only 6% in 2020 said Jason Bordoff, founding director of Columbia University’s global energy center.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/06/07/atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-hits-record-levels/