Carbon dioxide in the air at highest level since measurements began

FILE PHOTO: Downtown Los Angeles is seen behind a tree burned by wildfire before expected heavy rains, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 28, 2021. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

(Reuters) - Despite a massive reduction in commuting and in many commercial activities during the early months of the pandemic, the amount of carbon in Earth's atmosphere in May reached its highest level in modern history, a global indicator released on Monday showed.

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, said the findings, based on the amount of carbon dioxide in the air at NOAA's weather station on Mauna Loa in Hawaii, was the highest since measurements began 63 years ago.