How much Greenhouse Gas is in the Atmosphere?
The following graph shows the proportions of atmospheric gases as reported by NASA. The vast majority of the atmosphere is Nitrogen and Oxygen, which account for about 99% of the atmosphere. Of the remaining 1% (the expanded pie slice on the right), almost all of it is Argon (0.93%). The tiny red slice is Carbon Dioxide, which accounts for 0.035% of the Earth’s atmosphere. Recent research indicates that current Carbon Dioxide levels are about 25% larger than pre-industrial levels, and most of this excess is attributed to fossil fuel use. On days with normal or higher humidity, water is the third largest component gas in the atmosphere. Water vapor is a powerful greenhouse gas , but water vapor’s concentration in the atmosphere is highly variable (as high as 3% at 86 degrees F, and no more than about 1/2% at 32 degrees F) and was therefore left out of the NASA data table. Of all the greenhouse gases, water vapor has the largest impact on global temperature because of its relatively high
