KEY CONCEPTS
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and temperature go hand in hand. The more CO2 we pump into the atmosphere, the more our planet warms.
Once emitted, much CO2 remains in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years, making it a powerful influence on the long-term warming trend.
According to data from NOAA, daily peak CO2 reached just over 421 ppm (parts per million), up from 417 ppm last year at Mauna Loa.
It’s not just the record CO2 levels, but also the record pace. The Carbon Skyscraper graph focuses on CO2 change rates over the last 800,000 years, capturing the incredible speed and amount of CO2 that humans are pumping into the atmosphere.