According to the Keeling Curve, carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in the atmosphere surged in 2024, driven by wildfires and anthropogenic emissions, breaking all previous records.
- The average CO₂ concentration for 2024 was 3.58 parts per million (ppm) higher than the previous year, exceeding the previous record increase of 3.41 ppm.
- As of January 21, 2025, CO₂ levels had reached 427.1 ppm, the highest in millions of years, according to UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
- The use of fossil fuels contributes to rising CO₂ emissions. However, the rate of emissions fluctuates due to interactions with ocean and land ecosystems and fires.
About Keeling Curve
- The “Keeling Curve” record of atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa has been maintained by the Scripps Institution for Oceanography, University of California San Diego since 1958.
- Satellite measurements of the average concentration in the global atmosphere since 2003 are published by the Copernicus Climate Service.
(Source: Down to Earth)
