CO2 level

Last time CO2 levels were this high, there were trees at the South Pole

Pliocene beech fossils in Antarctica when CO2 was at similar level to today point to planet’s future

Damian CarringtonEnvironment editor

 @dpcarrington

Wed 3 Apr 2019 17.22 BSTLast modified on Thu 4 Apr 2019 08.49 BST

Shares

5.356

 Leaves of the extinct southern beech (Nothofagus beardmorensi) found at Oliver Bluffs, in the Transantarctic mountains, Antarctica. Photograph: J Francis, A Ashworth

Trees growing near the South Pole, sea levels 20 metres higher than now, and global temperatures 3C-4C warmer. That is the world scientists are uncovering as they look back in time to when the planet last had as much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as it does today.

Using sedimentary records and plant fossils, researchers have found that temperatures near the South Pole were about 20C higher than now in the Pliocene epoch, from 5.3m to 2.6m years ago.