Global warming appears to be accelerating, study finds

A study in Geophysical Research Letters reports a statistically significant acceleration in global surface warming over the past decade and says this change could bring the 1.5°C threshold sooner than earlier projections.

Scientists published a paper in Geophysical Research Letters reporting an acceleration in global surface warming over the past decade. The authors compared five large global temperature data sets and removed short-term influences such as El Niño, volcanic eruptions and the solar cycle. They report the warming rate rose from about 0.2°C per decade (1970–2015) to about 0.35°C per decade (2015–2025). Some researchers praised the methods as careful, while others questioned whether natural variability was fully accounted for. Key findings: - The paper analyzed five global temperature datasets to assess recent warming trends. - Authors filtered out short-term variability (El Niño, volcanic eruptions, solar cycle) to isolate long-term warming. - They report an increase from roughly 0.2°C per decade to roughly 0.35°C per decade and describe this as a statistically significant acceleration. - Experts are divided: some support the methodology, while others say uncertainties remain about the role of natural variability and short-term events. Summary: The study reports a statistically significant recent increase in the rate of global surface warming and suggests this could move the 1.5°C milestone earlier than previous projections. Debate among scientists continues, and the authors and other experts cited continued monitoring and further analysis as necessary to determine whether the change is a lasting shift or a transient feature.