The increase in the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere accelerated very worryingly between 2001 and 2003, according to figures revealed Monday by the British press on the eve of an annual Greenpeace conference in London.

According to figures published by the Guardian and The Independent, this is the first time that the amount of carbon dioxide - the main greenhouse gas - in the atmosphere has increased by more than 2 particles per million particles (ppm ) per year for two consecutive years.

Between 2001 and 2002, the number of carbon dioxide particles per million particles increased from 371,02 to 373,10 (an increase of 2,08 ppm over the year). Then it rose again to 375,64 in 2003, an annual increase of 2,54 ppm.

This data is stored on top of Mount Mauna Loa in Hawaii since 1958 by the services of Charles Keeling, an American researcher.

According to this researcher, only four years until then (1973, 1988, 1994 and 1998) had seen increases in the concentration of carbon dioxide of more than 2 ppm, and each time these were years marked by the phenomenon. El Nino.

"The increase in the number of carbon dioxide particles in the atmosphere of more than 2 ppm for two consecutive years is a new phenomenon," said Charles Keeling, quoted by the two British dailies.

Most worrying for the American researcher, 74 years old today, is that neither of these two years were El Nino years and that there is no data to explain this increase.

According to Charles Keeling, one of the explanations for this phenomenon could be a weakening of the earth's capacity to absorb excess carbon dioxide, “a weakening of + carbon dioxide sinks + (Editor's note: oceans and forests) associated with global warming and resulting from a response to climate change ”.

According to the Guardian, these figures will be discussed Tuesday at the annual conference of Greenpeace, and in the presence of the scientific advisor of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, David King.

source: AFP 11-10-2004