Earth’s CO2 hits highest recorded level in human history – exceeding 420 parts per million

Earth’s carbon dioxide levels have hit the highest recorded level in human history, new data shows.

For the first time on record, monthly average carbon dioxide (CO2) levels exceeded 420 parts per million (ppm) in April, their highest peak since accurate measurements began 64 years ago.

They even reached 421.33 ppm on one day last week, as greenhouse gas emissions continue to soar around the world. 

Teenage climate campaigner Greta Thunberg said that if the levels were confirmed then it would be ‘truly groundbreaking to say the least. And I don’t mean that in a good way…’

The finding comes from long-running records taken at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s weather station on Mauna Loa, Hawaii.