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Global warming by humans is associated with the dawn of the industrial age in the last half of the 1700s. Awareness of the greenhouse effect of certain atmospheric gases did not exist until the findings made by John Tyndall in 1859.
The following list of key global warming events, starting in 1769, is largely based on the chronology provided by Elizabeth Kolbert in her 2006 book, Field Notes from a Catastrophe.
1769 | CO2 is about 280 ppm
James Watt patents his steam engine.
1859
John Tyndall builds the world's first ratio spectrophotometer and tests the absorptive properties of atmospheric gases.
1895 | CO2 is about 290 ppm
Svante Arrhenius completes his calculations on varying CO2 levels.
1928
CFCs are invented
1955
Gilbert Plass proposes that adding more CO2 to the atmosphere would contribute to warming the planet.
1958
Charles David Keeling gets the US Weather Bureau to install equipment at the Mauna Loa Observatory to start direct, high-precision measurement of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.
1959 | CO2 is 315 ppm
Atmospheric CO2 is 315 parts per million
1970
Paul Crutzen warns that human actions may damage the ozone layer.
1979 | CO2 is 337 ppm
The National Academy of Sciences issues its first major report on Global Warming: "We may not be given a warning until the CO2 loading is such that an appreciable climate change is inevitable."
1987
The golden toad becomes the first species declared extinct due to global warming. See the paper by J. Alan Pounds published in Nature (April 1999).
The Montreal Protocol is adapted. phaseout of CFCs begins.
1988
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme.
1992 | CO2 is 356 ppm
President George H. W. Bush signs the U. N. Framework Convention on Climate Change at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The U.S. Senate approves the Framework Convention by unanimous consent.
1995
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issues its Second Assessment Report: "The balance of evidence suggests a discernible influence on global climate."
1997
The Kyoto Protocol is drafted
1998
Average global Temperatures for the year are the warmest on record.
2000 | CO2 is 369 ppm
Presidential candidate George W. Bush calls global warming an "issue we need to take very seriously."
2001
The IPPC issues its Third Assessment Report: "Most of the warming observed over the last fifty years is attributable to human activities."
A report by the National Research Council requested by President Bush states: "Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing subsurface ocean temperatures to rise. Temperatures are, in fact, rising."
President Bush announces that the United States is withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol.
Third warmest year on record.
2002
The Larsen B ice shelf (3,250 km2 and 220 feet thick) collapses in Anartica.
Second warmest year on record, tied with 2003.
2003 | CO2 is 375 ppm
Senator James Inhofe, chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, says he has "compelling evidence that catastrophic global warming is a hoax."
The American Geophysical Union issues a consensus statement asserting: "Natural influences cannot explain the rapid increase in global near-surface temperatures."
2004
Kyoto Protocol is ratified by Russia.Fourth warmest year on record.
2005
Extent of melt on the Greenland ice sheet reaches a record maximum.
Arctic sea ice reaches a record minimum; researchers warn sea could be ice-free in summer "well before the end of the century."
Kyoto Protocol goes into effect.
The National Academy of Sciences of the eight major industrialized nations issue a joint statement: "The scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action."
The Atlantic hurricane season sets a record for the number of Category 5 Storms.
Average global temperatures are statistically tied with 1998.
2006
An Inconvenient Truth, starring Al Gore, opened in theatres.
2008
Scientific paper published by James Hansen states for the first time that humanity needs to return atmospheric CO2 levels to 350 ppm or less in order to be safe. A grassroots movement led by Bill McKibben gets launched along with the website www.350.org.
Key Source
Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert (2006)
External References:
The Discovery of Global Warming by Spencer R. Weart. (Preview)
TomDispatch.com | A survey of global warming science & policy since 1988 | March 2007
Encyclopedia of Earth | Global Warming Timelines |
