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- Recently, the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii has recorded CO2 levels at 415.26 parts per million (ppm) baseline. It is the first time on record that the observatory measured a daily baseline above 415ppm. According to scientists, the last time Earth’s atmosphere contained this much CO2 was 3 million years ago.
- The Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) is an atmospheric research facility on Mauna Loa, on the island of Hawaii, located in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The observatory is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) – Global Monitoring Division (GMD).
- There are certain factors that make MLO ideal for monitoring constituents in the atmosphere that can cause climate change such as- a) undisturbed air, b) remote location, and c) minimal influences of vegetation and human activity.
- MLO has been monitoring and collecting data related to atmospheric change since the 1950’s. Concentration of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere is represented by the Keeling Curve- named after its creator, Dr. Charles David Keeling.
- At the end of 2018, the Mauna Loa Observatory recorded the fourth-highest annual growth in the concentration of atmospheric CO2 in its 60 years of record keeping. In 2013, CO2 levels were recorded as exceeding 400 ppm for the first time in human history. In comparison, CO2 levels were around 315 ppm at the start of record keeping in the 1950s.
- The high concentrations of atmospheric CO2 clearly indicates that nations are not on track in fulfilling the commitment to 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. The Paris agreement aims to a) keep global temperature rise in 21st century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and b) pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.



