Shocking NASA video reveals carbon emissions on Earth
If they were visible
Human activity continues to increase the amount of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere, preventing heat from escaping into space, thus contributing to overall global warming. Since carbon emissions are invisible to the naked eye, in an effort to make the public understand the scale, NASA released a video through its special Scientific Visualization Studio.
In the three videos he released, he captures exactly where the majority of greenhouse gases are concentrated and the changes that take place over the course of a year. The three videos cover different regions of the world and concern carbon dioxide emissions that took place in 2021. The emissions from fossil fuels are colored orange, the burning of biomass in red, the emissions of terrestrial ecosystems in green and the ocean in blue.
We notice that the northeastern region of the USA shows intense pollution. The green that pulsates in the Amazon forest in South America, are the trees that absorb carbon dioxide during half the day. The orange cloud expands as the months pass and surrounds the entire planet.
In the second video we see that the biggest emissions come from European countries and Saudi Arabia, while we also see a red cloud from emissions from burning agricultural products from central Africa.
In the third video, we see significant pollution over Beijing, while Australia, which has a relatively low population for its size, shows no significant emissions despite having the highest emissions per person of its population of 26 million.
Although carbon dioxide makes up only 0.04% of Earth’s gases, it is very powerful at reflecting heat back to the surface. Current levels are at 420 ppm, a relatively low level but much higher than we’ve had for millions of years and certainly much higher throughout human history.
The result is more and more intense heatwaves, floods and storms, while we also have the creation of new climate zones for half the planet, which will have devastating consequences for wildlife and an increased risk of pathogenic diseases.
