By David AitkenRead moreA report published by a research organisation says that the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are at their highest levels since the Industrial Revolution.
The study, which examined data from the UK Met Office and published in the journal Climate Change, found that the level of CO02 was up by 1,600 parts per million (ppm) between 1970 and 2015, according to a summary of the findings.
The UK Met said that the CO2 level of the atmosphere is higher than it has been for a decade.
But the study’s authors, Dr Daniel Withers and Dr Tom Riddell, said that it is difficult to attribute this to CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels, rather than changes in the climate itself.
Dr Witherss said that in the long term, the levels found in the study are likely to rise and the amount of CO3 in the air will also be rising.
“The rate of CO-emissions is probably going to increase, because there is no limit to the amount that humans can emit,” he said.
“We see that from the amount we emit of CO 2 into the atmosphere, it’s up by a factor of four every year.”
He said the current CO2 concentration of 1,601ppm is “about 50 per cent higher than the levels that existed at the start of the Industrial revolution, and this will continue for the next 50 years”.
He said that this is partly due to humans burning more fossil fuels and partly because the climate is changing faster than it was in the past.
“Over the last 50 years we’ve seen a gradual change in the rate of climate change,” Dr Witherson said.
“That means that the rate is increasing.”
In the next 10 years or so, we’ll see the change that we see today.
“Dr Wethers said that changes in air pollution and the effect of global warming on crops were both contributing to the increase in levels of the greenhouse gas.”
These two things have combined to increase the levels in the oceans,” he explained.”
It’s a feedback that’s happening, but it’s not a simple one.
“If you change the concentration of the CO 2 in the water and the CO-2 in soils, then you can actually cause the water to get hotter and the soils to get colder.”
And that leads to a bigger increase in the CO release from the atmosphere.
“The Met Office also noted that the increase is linked to the CO3 fertiliser that is used to fertilise fields.”
Changes in crop productivity also have a big effect on the amount and the quality of fertiliser,” the Met Office said.
The report was based on data collected between 1972 and 2015.
It found that a rise in CO2 concentrations of about 1,200ppm was seen in the UK and that the amount was similar to levels observed at the beginning of the industrial revolution.”
There’s a big change in how the atmosphere responds to greenhouse gases and CO2,” Dr Riddells said.
