At the summit of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, a volcano that has borne witness to the ebb and flow of Earth’s vital signs, a silent alarm is sounding.

The most recent data, as confirmed by scientists from NOAA and affiliated institutions, presents a stark reality: atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are increasing at a pace that humanity has never before experienced.

The Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory, a place far removed from the immediate effects of urban industrialization, has recorded a seasonal peak of nearly 427 parts per million (ppm) in May—an increase of 2.9 ppm since the previous year, and notably, the fifth-largest annual growth in half a century of meticulous data recording.

NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad conveyed the gravity of the situation, stating, “Now we are finding that atmospheric CO2 levels are increasing faster than ever.”

The broader implications of this surge in CO2 are profound and far-reaching. As the primary driver of global warming, this invisible yet increasingly dense blanket of gas is intensifying the sun’s heat on the planet’s surface.

The results are already manifest: record-breaking temperatures, devastating floods, and relentless droughts that continue to ravage communities and disrupt agriculture worldwide.

To grasp the scale of the challenge, we must look back 4.3 million years to the mid-Pliocene epoch. Today’s CO2 concentrations are comparable to levels from that era, a time when the seas stood 75 feet higher and global temperatures were 7 degrees Fahrenheit above those of pre-industrial times. Back then, large forests covered the Arctic—now a tundra—underscoring the transformative power of CO2.

NOAA’s alarming findings follow on the heels of another daunting revelation: Methane, the second-biggest contributor to human-caused global warming after CO2, has also hit record annual increases. This potent heat-trapping gas is 25 times more effective at insulating the Earth in the short term, exacerbating the rate of climate change.

Rick Spinrad cautioned, “The evidence is consistent, alarming and undeniable. We need to build a Climate Ready Nation to adapt for what’s already here and prepare for what’s to come.”

While controlling methane emissions is technically feasible today, and doing so would have immediate benefits, the longevity of CO2 in the atmosphere means that even if we were to cease all emissions, the legacy of our past actions would linger for millennia. “We’re halfway to doubling the abundance of carbon dioxide that was in the atmosphere at the start of the Industrial Revolution,” observed Pieter Tans, senior scientist with the Global Monitoring Laboratory.

Indeed, reducing methane emissions—stemming from sources such as fossil fuel production, livestock, and wetlands—can be a critical step in mitigating near-term climate change. But as Xin Lan, a CIRES scientist working at NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory, emphasized, “the extreme longevity of the carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere means that we need to aggressively reduce fossil fuel pollution to zero as soon as possible if we want to avoid the worst impacts from a changing climate.”

Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus, the European Union’s climate change service, remarked, “We are living in unprecedented times. … This string of hottest months will be remembered as comparatively cold.”

Through NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory, more than 15,000 air samples from around the world paint a picture of a planet gasping for relief.

Yet, despite international commitments to curb emissions, there has been no measurable progress in reducing the release of these invisible yet increasingly heavy chains that bind the Earth’s climate to a potentially catastrophic path.

We stand at a crossroads, with the once distant concept of climate change now firmly rooted in the present. As military tech and political enthusiasts with a deep appreciation for the mechanisms that drive both conflict and innovation, it behooves us to acknowledge the strategic and tactical challenges that climate change poses. From shifting geopolitical landscapes to the need for advancements in climate-resilient infrastructure, the implications are as vast as they are critical. In a race against time and rising tides, the question remains: How will we respond to the call that echoes from Mauna Loa’s heights?

Relevant articles:
– Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are surging “faster than ever” to beyond anything humans ever experienced, officials say, CBS News
– Increase in atmospheric methane set another record during 2021, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (.gov)
– The Earth’s CO2 Levels Are Increasing Faster Than Ever, Slashdot