Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes greatly to the Earth’s temperature to rise, therefore heavily impacting climate change. Carbon dioxide is also known to react with water molecules which fluctuates the ocean’s pH level. The drop in pHI in the oceans, known as ocean acidification, has lowered from 8.21 to 8.10 since the Industrial Revolution. This is a significant change because a change of o:1 in pH indicates a 30% increase in acidity of the oceans. Another impact carbon dioxide has on the climate is through atmospheric carbon levels. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were estimated to be 412.5 parts per million in 2020. The global atmospheric carbon dioxide level has increased by 12% over the past 20 years. The present day levels of carbon dioxide are higher than they have been in 3 million years when conditions were hugely different in terms of the sea level and the regular temperature of the globe. The reason that the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are so high today is due to the burning of fossil fuels that are returning carbon to the atmosphere at a higher rate that makes it increasingly difficult for the atmosphere to remove all of the carbon through its natural processes alone. This amount of carbon dioxide warms the Earth and contributes to other greater factors that are putting the Earth at risk. Atmospheric carbon dioxide may exceed goo parts per million by the end of this century if global energy demands continue at the rate they are going at or even increase.

Works Cited:

https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide