In 1896 the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius published a paper, after months of hand calculations, estimating that halving the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would lower the temperature of the Earth by about 4 to 5 degrees Celsius, and that doubling it would raise it by about 5 to 6 degrees. He also realised that burning coal would increase carbon dioxide, but thought that the change would take thousands of years and would be beneficial in a cold climate. Modern estimates of the warming caused by doubling CO2 are lower, between 2.5 and 4 degrees, but his principle holds. He won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for other work.
Before and after
- 15 November 1895Founding of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
- 14 December 1895Birth of George VI
- 28 December 1895The Lumiere brothers hold the first public film screening
- from 1896 to 1898Philippine Revolution
- 1896Svante Arrhenius calculates how carbon dioxide warms the planet
- from 11 February 1896 to 20 February 1897Gojong's internal exile to the Russian legation
- 1 March 1896Battle of Adwa
- from 6 April 1896 to 15 April 18961896 Summer Olympics
- from 6 April 1896 to 15 April 1896The first modern Olympic Games open in Athens
More in Science & technology
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.