Last week, NASA, the United States space agency, released a dynamic map that illustrates the movement of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere during 2020. This map highlights China, the United States and South Asia as the main sources of emissions of this polluting gas.
The video released was produced by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, using data from the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model. This high-resolution model reanalyzes climate data captured by satellites and was applied to analyze the period from January to March 2020, a period that coincided with numerous forest fires around the world.
GEOS is a powerful tool that simulates a variety of atmospheric phenomena, including storm systems and cloud formations. In the video, a dense haze of CO2 is visible, moving along with wind patterns and atmospheric circulation, highlighting the main emitting regions of this gas.
The main sources of CO2 identified in the video come from power plants, industries and motor vehicles, with China, the United States and South Asia being the largest contributors. Other regions, such as Africa and South America, also appear on the map, but to a lesser extent, mainly due to agricultural fires and deforestation.
Despite the significant increase in emissions since the pre-industrial era, with CO2 levels rising from 278 ppm in 1750 to 427 ppm in May 2024, the Earth's surface and oceans absorb about half of the CO2 emitted, acting as natural carbon sinks.
NASA warns that to avoid the severe impacts of climate change, it may be necessary to implement stricter restrictions on CO2 emissions, especially in highly industrialized nations.
Source: DYAMOND Global Carbon Dioxide.
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