There is no denying the damning effects of climate change have for human society. Despite knowledge of the climate change threats, factors that contribute to climate change are still on the rise. According to statistics from NASA, global temperature has increased a whopping 1.4 degrees in less than two centuries. In fact, the space agency recorded the warmest temperature records in history last year.

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 As a result, land ice has been on the decrease since 2008. It is estimated that 400 billion metric tons of ice sheets are lost from Greenland and Antarctica every year. The phenomenon has led to an increase in sea levels thus threatening low lying areas.

If these realities are not damning enough, it seems like one more factor that contributes to climate change continues to increase at a record-breaking extent. 

Scientists from the University of Hawaii have recently published an academic paper detailing the increase in carbon emissions. According to their research, the rate of emissions at present is higher than it is ever been in the last 66 million years. This means that the last time carbon levels were at this rate, dinosaurs and other ancient species roamed the planet.

"Given currently available records, the present anthropogenic carbon release rate is unprecedented during the past 66 million years," read a part of the academic paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Most of the emissions can be attributed to the burning of fossil fuels amounting to 10 billion tones a year.

The researchers, led by Richard Zeebe, has since explained the implications of the rise of carbon emission rates. According them, the phenomenon has been observed 66 million years ago. During that time, the oceans turned acidic - subsequently damaging ocean life.

They explain that the current carbon emission rates would result to a disruption of marine ecosystems.

"Our results suggest that future ocean acidification and possible effects on marine calcifying organisms will be more severe than during the Paleoeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum or PETM. Future ecosystem disruptions are likely to exceed the relatively limited extinctions observed at the PETM" quipped Zeebe as reported by Yahoo News.