"Another climate milestone soared by last weekend when scientists announced that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels hit 415 parts per million for the first time ever.
It's the latest in a long list of broken records, and like the others, it promises to hold the title temporarily. Atmospheric CO2 is rising at accelerating rates — currently climbing at close to 3 ppm each year, and getting faster. Every year, the world sees new levels that were previously unrecorded in modern human history. The last time CO2 concentrations hit 415 ppm was likely close to 3 million years ago.
Atmospheric CO2 levels are directly correlated with rising global temperatures. But it's the warming, itself, that often captures the most international attention. World nations participating in the Paris climate agreement have chosen to set their goals in terms of global temperatures, aiming to keep the climate from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius, or 1.5 C if possible, above its preindustrial condition."
Advertisement 
