Global CO₂: atmosphere, countries, and gridded emissions

Atmospheric CO₂ at Mauna Loa (NOAA)

NOAA · Mauna Loa

Atmospheric CO₂ Concentration (1958-2025)

Annual mean CO₂ concentration measured at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii (1958-2025)

This graph shows the evolution of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration measured at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii since 1958. These data, known as the Keeling Curve, document the steady increase in atmospheric CO₂ due to human activities. In 2025, the annual mean concentration reached 427.35 ppm (parts per million), an unprecedented level not seen in hundreds of thousands of years. This increase is primarily due to fossil fuel combustion and deforestation. The data is provided by NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory, in collaboration with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Source: NOAA GML — Trends in CO₂ (data & downloads)

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Territorial CO₂ emissions by country (2024)

Column heights scale with national totals for 2024 in million tonnes of CO₂ (Mt CO₂) from the Global Carbon Budget 2025 dataset used on this site. Pan and zoom the map; point at a country for its value. Use the Global Carbon Atlas link on the graphic for methodological context.

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Source: Global Carbon Atlas — Carbon emissions

Global CO₂ emissions by country (1960–2024)

Animated 3D ranking of the top emitting countries plus an aggregate for the rest of the world, in Mt CO₂ per year, from 1960 through 2024. The view highlights how contributions shift over time while total emissions rise; it is a visual summary, not a replacement for official national inventory reports.

Gridded fossil CO₂ (ODIAC)

ODIAC allocates national fossil CO₂ emissions to a ~1° latitude–longitude grid for each year. Brighter cells mean higher inferred flux density (here in gC/m²/yr). This is a model-based spatialisation—useful for comparing spatial patterns with atmospheric monitoring, not for pixel-level emissions accounting without reading the dataset notes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ppm at Mauna Loa and national CO₂ emission totals?

Mauna Loa reports the mole fraction of CO₂ in dry air at a single background site (parts per million, ppm). It reflects the net effect of all sources and sinks on the global atmosphere. National emission inventories and the Global Carbon Budget instead estimate how much CO₂ countries release from fossil fuels and industry (and related fluxes), usually in million tonnes of CO₂ per year (Mt CO₂). The two are related—rising emissions drive higher ppm—but they are not the same measurement.

What is ODIAC and how does it relate to the Global Carbon Budget?

The Open-source Data Inventory for Anthropogenic Carbon (ODIAC) distributes national fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions onto a latitude–longitude grid for modelling and visualisation. The Global Carbon Budget synthesises inventories, atmospheric observations, and models to estimate fluxes at country and global scales. ODIAC is one of several gridded products used in that wider ecosystem; values here are for exploration and should be interpreted with the official dataset documentation.

Why can recent daily CO₂ values change?

NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory applies quality control to in situ measurements. Daily and monthly means near the present can be revised slightly as late data arrive or screening rules are applied. Always refer to the official NOAA tables for citation-grade numbers.

Where do the territorial emission map and 3D race figures come from?

The world map and country columns use territorial CO₂ totals consistent with the Global Carbon Budget 2025 material exposed on this site, with further context on the Global Carbon Atlas emissions page. Country names and flags follow standard ISO lists; rankings combine the largest emitters with an aggregate for the rest of the world where applicable.

How should I cite NOAA, the Global Carbon Project, or ODIAC?

Please cite the original providers when reusing their data—for example NOAA GML for Mauna Loa CO₂, the Global Carbon Project publications for the budget, NIES/CGER for ODIAC, and ClimateObservatory.org only as a secondary pointer to those sources.