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Rising carbon dioxide levels are being detected within the human body, with new research warning a key blood marker for the gas could near its healthy limit within decades if current trends continue. The findings are especially relevant for children and adolescents, whose developing bodies will experience the longest cumulative exposure to rising atmospheric CO₂.
Tracking carbon dioxide inside the body
In a study published in Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia, Curtin University and The Australian National University (ANU) analyzed more than two decades of U.S. population data and found steady shifts in blood chemistry that closely track the rise in atmospheric CO₂.
Using data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the team examined blood results from around 7,000 people every two years between 1999 and 2020.
Average levels of serum bicarbonate—a marker closely linked to carbon dioxide in the body—have risen by approximately 7% since 1999. Over the same period, average calcium and phosphorus levels have declined.
These changes mirror the rise in atmospheric CO₂, which has increased from about 369 parts per million (ppm) in 2000 to more than 420 ppm today.
Author Associate Professor Alexander Larcombe said the findings suggest the human body may already be compensating for a changing atmosphere.
"What we're seeing is a gradual shift in blood chemistry that mirrors the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide which is driving climate change," A/Prof Larcombe said.
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