Australian Bushfires To Contribute To One Of Sharpest Annual CO2 Spikes - UK Met Office

The ongoing Australian bushfires will likely contribute to the one of largest increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since measurements started being taken in 1958, the UK Meteorological Office said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th January, 2020) The ongoing Australian bushfires will likely contribute to the one of largest increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since measurements started being taken in 1958, the UK Meteorological Office said on Friday.

"A forecast of the atmospheric concentration of carbon-dioxide shows that 2020 will witness one of the largest annual rises in concentration since measurements began at Mauna Loa [Observator], in Hawaii, 1958," the office said in a statement.

According to current estimations, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide will peak at 417 parts per million in May, and the average for the year will be around 414.

2 parts per million.

"While human-caused emissions cause the CO�� rise in concentration, impacts of weather patterns on global ecosystems are predicted to increase the rise by 10% this year. Emissions from the recent Australian bushfires contribute up to one-fifth of this increase," the office said.

The bushfires, which have been ravaging across Australia since September 2019 and have recently intensified, have reportedly claimed around 30 lives, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and killed over one billion animals.