Global average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached a
new record high in March 2015, soaring to surpass 400 parts per million,
scientists revealed on Wednesday. The news came as a reminder that the
international community has failed to come up with meaningful solutions to
reverse the trend in greenhouse gas emissions that are a direct cause of
global warming.
The average in atmosphere carbon dioxide concentration observed in March
has not been seen by scientists since NOAA monitoring started in 1957. And
scientific evidence suggests that these levels have been unseen for the entire
history of human civilization as we know it. With the dawn of the industrial
age, carbon dioxide concentration levels in the atmosphere began to climb,
going from 280 parts per million in 1800 to 290 parts per million in 1900. In
the last century alone, the rise in concentration is one that would normally
be expected to happen over the course of 10,000 or 20,000 years.