Carbon
in Context

Climate numbers, without the fog

Big numbers.
Human scale.

Carbon can be hard to picture. Put any amount in context, calculate an everyday activity, or see the atmosphere on the day you were born.

Put a number in contextFind your birthday PPM
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parts per million (PPM)

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What does a tonne of CO₂e feel like?

Enter any amount. We’ll translate it into several everyday scales—because no single comparison tells the whole story.

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The emissions picture

A dated picture of global emissions.

See the newest complete global total, the recent direction of travel, and where emissions come from—updated automatically from Our World in Data.

Explore emissions by year
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—parts per million (PPM)

Reading the atmospheric dataset

A tiny unit with a big story

What is PPM?

PPM means parts per million. For atmospheric CO₂, it tells us how many carbon dioxide molecules are present in every one million molecules of dry air.

Before industrialisationAbout 280 PPMThe long-run atmospheric baseline
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CO₂ is only a small fraction of the atmosphere, but it traps heat and remains there for a long time. That is why a change of tens of PPM can reshape the climate.

The really long view

Across 800,000 years, pre-industrial ice-core CO₂ cycled roughly between 174 and 300 PPM.Loading the verified modern endpoint…
Explore the 800,000-year chart

Similar names, different meanings

CO₂, CO₂e and PPM are not interchangeable.

CO₂Carbon dioxide: one heat-trapping gas.
CO₂eDifferent greenhouse gases expressed on one warming scale.
PPMThe concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere—not an emissions amount.
See the PPM on a date that matters to you

Four ways in

Start with what you know.

01

Compare an amount

Turn kg or tonnes into driving, meals, home energy and more.

Open the comparer →02

Calculate an activity

Estimate travel, home, food and purchase footprints.

Choose an activity →03

What’s the footprint of this?

Start with a MacBook, a meal or an everyday activity. Explore 85 sourced footprints.

Find an item →04

Your birthday PPM

Discover the atmosphere on a date that matters to you.

Choose a date →

A number worth sharing

The atmosphere
on your first day.

Choose any date since 1900. We’ll find the best available measurement or historical estimate, explain its precision, and make a card you can share.

Find a birthday PPM
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