KENSINGTON, Md. – KENSINGTON, Maryland (AP) — The world hit another new record high for heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, despite reduced emissions because of the coronavirus pandemic, scientists announced Thursday.
Measurements of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, averaged 417.1 parts per million at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, for the month of May, when carbon levels in the air peak, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
That's 2.4 parts per million higher than a year ago. Even though emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels dropped by as much 17% in April, it was a brief decline.