NASA’s Time-Lapse Footage Exposes the Part of the World That Truly Drives Climate Crisis

The climate crisis is an urgent and escalating problem faced by our planet currently. Increasing temperatures, extreme weather conditions, and melting glaciers are all signs of the strain that we humans are placing on the Earth. Our insensible actions, like burning fossil fuels and deforestation, are accelerating these negative changes. Recently, Mike Hudema, a climate campaigner focusing on addressing the issue of the climate crisis, who goes by the username @MikeHudema on X (formerly Twitter), shared one of NASA’s latest time-lapse videos on his X account. It offers a striking visual of how human activities are a driving force behind climate change. It also highlights the urgent need for action.

The video that is now going viral across social media platforms shows the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is one of the key contributors to climate change. Unlike several other visible pollutants around us, carbon dioxide isn't visible to our naked eyes, making the effects of global warming harder for people to grasp. But this new visualization changes that by clearly showing differences in CO₂ emissions between the northern and southern hemispheres. In the caption accompanying the video, Hudema wrote, “This NASA visualization shows the CO2 emitted into the earth's atmosphere + clarifies who is responsible for the climate crisis: we, the Global North. There is no time to wait.”

The video clip also demonstrates how the harmful gas spreads across the globe through air currents. It specifically focuses on Europe, the Middle East, and African regions, and you can clearly see Europe’s fossil fuel emissions, while the red areas show fires in central Africa used to clear farmland, as reported by the Scientific Visualization Studio, NASA. Though these fires release less CO₂ when compared to fossil fuels, they are still important as they can affect how well the land can store carbon in the future. For this animated video, NASA allegedly used advanced computer models to track carbon, helping scientists see where it comes from and where it goes.

While the video was originally released in 2023, it is once again going viral after Hudema shared it. Several social media users rushed to the comment section of the post to share their views. One X user, @RazaqGadehi, commented, “There is a swift need to take action to stop carbon dispersing in society and communities. Planting trees can change the lives of humans and animals as well as marine life.” Another person, @kriegarjack, wrote, “You know what loves carbon dioxide? Plants and trees. People actively pump carbon dioxide into greenhouses to make their plants grow. The more carbon dioxide, the more aggressively plants grow.”

However, @milachka2001 argued, “90% of the global population lives in the Northern hemisphere. It would be a bit surprising if the Southern hemisphere were responsible.” Meanwhile, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have risen 50 percent higher than in the era before the Industrial Revolution. Over the last 60 years, its yearly increase has been roughly 100 times faster than any natural rise in the past, as reported by NOAA Climate. Additionally, since the mid-20th century, yearly CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels have grown every decade.

More on Green Matters

Chilling NASA Video Shows CO2 Spewing Out From the US Like Fiery Flames Into Earth’s Atmosphere

Plants Are Absorbing 30% More CO2 Than Expected- Here’s What It Means for Climate Change

Our Planet Could Get Four New Seasons Due to Rapid Climate Change — Research Finds