Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Earth
atmospheric constituent; greenhouse gas
In the atmosphere of Earth, carbon dioxide (CO2) is a trace gas that plays an integral part in the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, photosynthesis, and oceanic carbon cycle. It is one of three main greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of Earth. In 2026, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached 432 ppm or 0.0432% (on a molar basis), representing a mass of 3380 gigatonnes. This is an increase of 54% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, up from 280 ppm during the 10,000 years prior to the mid-18th century. The increase is due to human activity.
The current increase in CO2 concentrations is primarily driven by the burning of fossil fuels. Other significant human activities that emit CO2 include cement production, deforestation, and biomass burning. The increase in atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and other long-lived greenhouse gases such as methane increase the absorption and emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere. This has led to a rise in average global temperature and ocean acidification. Another direct effect is the CO2 fertilization effect.
The public source identifies “Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Earth” as atmospheric constituent; greenhouse gas. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Carbon, dioxide and atmosphere.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4468919. The Library of Congress control number is sh85009279. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2026.
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This entry incorporates text from “Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Earth” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.