Earth’s atmosphere is composed of about 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.9 percent argon, and 0.1 percent other gases, including trace amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and neon. However, this smidgen of carbon dioxide is responsible for 80% of human-induced global warming.
Carbon dioxide builds up due to emissions and remains in the air for centuries, trapping heat, and reducing the earth’s ability to cool off. This means a rise in temperatures and warmer seas. More water vapor evaporates into the atmosphere, providing fuel for more frequent hurricanes, typhoons and torrential rain.
Carbon dioxide or CO2 thus directly affects the climate and causes extreme weather.
We have already seen the merciless impact of this temperature rise in 2022. Argentina faced a historic heat wave with a 45°C (113°F) temperature in January 2022. India suffered its hottest March in more than 122 years. Turkey, Spain, Greece and France saw numerous wildfires. Heavy rains deluged Australia’s east coast, submerging several towns. Tropical Storm Ana passed over Madagascar and displaced 130,000 across southern and eastern Africa. One of the world’s deadliest floods was witnessed in Pakistan in 2022 killing over 1,700 people. More than 33 million people have been affected, making it one of the world’s costliest natural disasters of all time.
The abundance of one gas, CO2, is the primary controller of the planet’s surface temperature and thus its climate.
Today, CO2 levels are higher than they have been in at least 3 million years. And although they still account for only 0.04% of the atmosphere, that still adds up to billions of tons of heat-trapping gas.
CO2 is in the air and we need to capture it.
If you want to know today’s concentration of CO2 in the air, visit our homepage at www.soletairpower.fi
