Ever wonder what millions of years of Earth’s history feels like in a single number?
Try 430.2 parts per million—that’s the latest record-breaking level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
And it’s not a fluke. It’s the direct result of us burning fossil fuels like there’s no tomorrow.
Recorded this May at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory, this number is more than just data—it’s a warning siren.
“Another year, another record,” sighed Ralph Keeling, director of the Scripps CO₂ Program. “It’s sad.”
Keeling’s family has been tracking this for decades.
His father’s work gave us the famous Keeling Curve, showing CO₂ rising steadily year after year.
Back in 2013, crossing 400 ppm was a shock. Now? 500 ppm could be here in 30 years.
Why Should We Care?
CO₂ traps heat like a suffocating blanket—amplifying droughts, wildfires, floods, and ocean acidification.
“It’s changing so fast,” Keeling warned. “We built civilization for yesterday’s climate.”
Think of these measurements as Earth’s vital signs—and they’re not good.
As Keeling puts it: “We’re getting a holistic measurement of the atmosphere from really a kind of simple set of measurements.”
The big question now: how long before that number rises beyond what we—and the planet—can handle?
