Average atmospheric CO2 levels last month were the highest we’ve ever recorded, ever

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have set a new and worrying record: for the first time in recorded history, levels averaged higher than 410 parts per million (ppm) throughout the whole month.

Last year, CO2 levels in the atmosphere hit the highest concentration they’ve reached in millions of years — 410 ppm. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and it was a testament to humanity’s advancements: for better or worse, we had become a geological force.

This April, we’ve reached an even more ignoble record: we’ve seen average atmospheric CO2 levels rise above the 410 ppm mark and stay there throughout the whole month for the first time in history.