Carbon Dioxide Concentration Counter

ppm (parts per million)

What is this? 

The CO2 concentration calculator is a very neat little gadget which shows a rolling estimate of the current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It isn't really constantly sampling the atmosphere at a network of stations worldwide; instead it extrapolates recorded data forward to produce the figure you see. The CO2 calculator has been developed by Andy Rankin, apparently whilst at an Antarctic research station where the combination of clear evidence of global warming and plentiful spare time resulted in this. If you would like to know more about how it works and what the data sources are, or even get one for your own webpage then have a look at Andy's informative and very entertaining page here. 

What do the numbers mean? 

The calculator displays the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere in parts per million (ppm). You should have immediately spotted that it is constantly increasing. This is alarming because the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the main factors which influence how warm the planet gets; more CO2 = a hotter and stormier world.

A further cause for concern is that there is very strong evidence that above a certain threshold this warming will trigger natural feedback loops, like the melting of the Siberian permafrost, which will release massive amounts of greenhouse gas and create yet more warming. This type of scenario is known as runaway climate change and really doesn't have anything to recommend it. No one knows exactly what concentration of CO2 will cause enough warming to trigger runaway climate change, but reputable estimates are usually in the range of 350-500 parts per million.