The Rising Concentration of CO2 in the Atmosphere

Will the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere soon exceed 275 ppm?

a) It will exceed 275 ppm soon

b) It will decrease below 275 ppm

c) It will remain constant at 275 ppm

d) It's impossible to predict without further data

Answer:

The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere will soon exceed 275 parts per million (ppm) due to human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation, as levels have already surpassed 400 ppm.

Explanation: The correct answer to the question of whether the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere will soon exceed 275 parts per million (ppm) is (a) It will exceed 275 ppm soon. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations before the industrial revolution were about 275 ppm.

According to evidence from ice cores and direct measurements, there has been a significant increase in CO2 levels since the Industrial Revolution due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

The pre-industrial level of carbon dioxide was estimated to be around 280 ppm, but has soared to over 400 ppm in recent years. This unprecedented rise far exceeds the historical cycling of CO2 between 180 and 300 ppm that occurred over periods of tens of thousands of years.

Human activities now generate over 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, dwarfing the emissions from volcanoes and causing an imbalance in the atmospheric CO2 budget. Given the current trend driven by industrialization, and unless drastic measures are taken to reduce emissions, the concentration of CO2 is expected to continue increasing rather than decrease or remain constant.