again, humanity broke a record that –according to experts– would open a new era in the fight against climate change: the carbon dioxide (CO2) –one of the causes of global warming– has reached levels of concentration so high that it surpassed the 400 ppm (parts per million, a symbolic threshold that was set as a limit to scenarios of greatest concern to the planet’s climate.
The fact was revealed by the new report of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), met this Monday in Switzerland.
Exceed this cap indicates that the warming of the Earth will keep going and more and more, humanity is near to exceed the increase in two degrees of the temperature at the end of this century.
The two degrees are another indicator that the international community is set to mitigate climate change responsible for the increase of the sea, the melting of the glaciers, the increased frequency of hurricanes, among other phenomena already observed.
Javier Mendoza, coordinator of the Third National Communication on Climate Change of Colombia, explains that in previous years had already reached as high concentrations of carbon dioxide in some parts of the planet, such as areas where there are critical foci of deforestation or industrial areas, but what is revealed by the WMO is that the average for all of the planet exceeds such cap.
"there May be places above the 400 parts per million, and other below 300; however, what we are seeing is very worrying because there is a huge amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and will be there for centuries to come," warns the researcher.
During the presentation of the report, the Finnish Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of WMO, noted that "the world is moving in the wrong direction." The underlying problem, he said, "is the political will, as there are solutions to reduce emissions, and we can act" emphasized.
The concentration of this element in the pre-industrial era, when it reached 278 ppm represented a balance between the atmosphere, the oceans and the biosphere. However, human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, has altered the natural dynamics.
The role of the Child
according To the WMO, the growth of CO2 was accelerated by the episode of the Child, which arises every four or five years and leads to the warming of the planet. The explanation is that, although this climate phenomenon in the Pacific ocean, by the teleconnections of the climate, the effects of an event either not only affect that particular location, but around the globe.
"During the Child, the ecosystems were most exposed to water stress, that is to say, by the lack of energy and water, plants assimilated less CO2 than in the other scenario," explained Mendoza, the colombian team which is investigating the future scenarios of climate change for the country.
forests absorb about half the CO2 emissions, but there is the risk of that is saturated, which would increase the fraction of emissions of carbon dioxide, which remains in the atmosphere.
however, you can not blame the rise to the el Niño phenomenon, which has always been in the system of the weather of the planet. "The Child has disappeared, but climate change continues", warned Taalas, secretary of the WMO.
This upward trend will continue in 2016, said the international organization, based on the information of the station of monitoring of greenhouse gases oldest, located in Mauna Loa (Hawaii).
LIFE
*With information from Efe and AFP
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