The world hit another new record high for heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, despite reduced emissions because of the coronavirus pandemic, scientists announced. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Atmospheric carbon dioxide reached a seasonal peak of 417.1 parts per million (ppm) for 2020 in May, the highest monthly reading ever recorded, according to scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, who used measurements at Mauna Loa Observatory.

That’s a carbon dioxide level not experienced by the atmosphere in at least several million years, according to the scientists’ press release.

This year’s peak value was 2.4 ppm higher than the previous peak of 414.7 ppm recorded in May 2019. Monthly carbon dioxide values at Mauna Loa first topped the 400 ppm mark…