WHAT IT IS

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been on the rise in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. It has been measurement continuously since the late 1950s at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii and those measurements are the basis for the Keeling Curve, one of the most iconic images in climate science. CO2 concentrations are measured in parts per million, or ppm. Since the first measurements in 1958, CO2 has risen from 313 ppm to over 400 ppm. Using other techniques, scientists can see that CO2 was around 280 ppm at the start of the Industrial Revolution. A large part of the increase comes from human activities, especially from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. Other observations around the globe support the observations being taken at Mauna Loa.