Concentrations of climate-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have hit record highs, despite a dip in emissions due to the pandemic, scientists said.
The latest measurements from the long-running recording station at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, show global levels of carbon dioxide are 50% above what they were when the Industrial Revolution began in Britain.
The data released by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, shows atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas in March averaged 417.14 parts per million (ppm), a new record high.
The UK’s Met Office predicts monthly concentrations of carbon dioxide, the main driver of rising temperatures and climate change, will peak in 2021 at around 419.5 ppm.
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The UK Met Office has a yellow weather warning in place today for snow for much of the Highland region.
Road condition this morning are as follows:
Skye and Raasay
Posted at 08:05. Some icy patches on the A863 but have been treated. A light covering of snow in North of Skye. Milder conditions in south of island. Primary routes completed and secondary checks ongoing. Temperatures rising quickly throughout area.
Caithness
Posted at 08:30. All routes out and foot paths. Cover of snow up to 1.2 inch in places with some over night drift and some on going snow showers. Treatment ongoing.
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Lochalsh and Ross & Cromarty West
Posted at 06:52. A couple of inches of snow on most routes. All routes out. Treatment plan being implemented. Some lorries stuck on hills first thing, but all moving now. Treatment ongoing.
Skye and Raasay
Posted at 08:44. Up to 25mm of snow affecting all routes. Snow has frozen in places along with some icy patches. All routes currently being treated.
Caithness
Posted at 08:05. Covering of hale and snow up to 2in in places with light drifting and light snow hale showers. Blading where necessary.
The science of weather forecasting falls to public scrutiny every single day. When the forecast is correct, we rarely comment, but we are often quick to complain when the forecast is wrong. Are we ever likely to achieve a perfect forecast that is accurate to the hour? There are many steps involved in preparing a weather forecast. It begins its life as a global “snapshot” of the atmosphere at a given time, mapped onto a three-dimensional grid of points that span the entire globe and stretch from the surface to the stratosphere (and sometimes higher). Using a supercomputer and a sophisticated model that describes the behaviour of the atmosphere with physics equations, this snapshot is then stepped forward in time, producing many terabytes of raw forecast data. It then falls to human forecasters to interpret the data and turn it into a meaningful forecast that is broadcast to the public.
Crazy weather in Oxford? Why the forecast will always be a bit wrong oxfordmail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from oxfordmail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.