Carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere reach record high

Concentrations are 50% above pre-industrial levels despite dip in emissions during Covid pandemic

Concentrations of climate-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have hit record highs, despite a dip in emissions during the Covid pandemic, scientists have said.

The latest measurements from the long-running recording station at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, show global levels of carbon dioxide are 50% above what they were when the Industrial Revolution began in Britain.