The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere in 2016 was higher than at any point in more than 800,000 years, thanks to humans and a recent strong El Nino event, the World Meteorological Organization said. In a statement Monday, the organization warned of “severe ecological and economic disruptions” based on the concentrations of the greenhouse gas, which is now at an average of 403.3 parts per million. “Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse-gas emissions, we will be heading for dangerous temperature increases by the end of this century,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said.
