Overview
- Global temperatures have risen at roughly 0.35°C per decade over the past 10 years, nearly double the average rate from 1970 to 2015.
- The acceleration appears consistently across five major datasets from NASA, NOAA, HadCRUT, Berkeley Earth, and ERA5, with the shift emerging around 2013–2015.
- The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, focuses on detecting the speed‑up rather than explaining its causes.
- If the recent pace persists, researchers warn the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C threshold could be exceeded on a long‑term basis before 2030.
- Independent experts broadly accept faster recent warming but debate its exact magnitude and durability, noting potential residual natural variability and untested causal hypotheses such as reduced aerosol cooling from shipping.