Keeling Curve

Measurements of carbon dioxide in atmosphere since 1958
(Scripps Institution of Oceanography & NOAA)

The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has been measured at Mauna Loa Observatory on Hawaii since the 1950's. There has been a steady rise in carbon dioxide since the measurements began, and you can see the rise and fall on a yearly basis due to plants growing and absorbing CO2 every spring and summer. In 2015 the annual growth rate jumped by 3.05 parts per million, the largest year-to-year increase in their 56 years of measurements.