Alert! Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Hits Record High, a 'Real Shock to the Atmosphere

The year 2017 may not be a good year for climate change critics, and for the Earth in general. Experts have reported that the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide has hit record levels.

The Denver Channel reported that a team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which conducted experiments in the the Mauna Loa Baseline Atmospheric Laboratory in Hawaii, made alarming discoveries.

The team revealed that the carbon dioxide level in the site hit 405.1 parts per million in 2016, which is 3 parts per million higher than in 2015.

The recent data marks the fifth consecutive year that carbon dioxide is on the rise. However, what's more concerning is the consistent level of increase at at least 2 parts per million.

According to Peter Tans of NOAA, the recent data is unprecedent and shocking. He added that this is 100 to 200 times faster than the transition from the last Ice Age.

The new report confirms to scinetists' theories that carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere contributes to the warming of the planet. To lessen global warming, some countries have decided to lessen their coal use and emission and increase using renewable energy sources.

According to Scientific American, the data is important, considering that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere 100,000 years ago was just 280 parts per million. When the Industrial Revolution began, it suddenly increased, and at a faster rate.

Ralph Keeling, director of the Scripps CO2 Program and a leading greenhouse expert, said this means carbon dioxide emissions have increased due to current developments.

It can be noted that the United States EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt recently said that humans are "not the primary" contributor to climate change. This sparked a lot of criticisms from climate change experts, environmental groups, and scientists that have been researching on the matter.

In fact, a group of more than 24 climate scientists sent Pruitt a letter that criticized his comments. The letter added that much of the climate change and the warming of the atmosphere in the previous years is precisely because of increasing carbon dioxide levels.