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Some parts of the globe are not just heating up, but heating up faster than they were just a few decades ago. A new analysis reveals where warming has gained pace.
It found that, starting in the 1980s, warming began to accelerate in a few regions, first in the eastern Mediterranean and North Pacific, and later in New Zealand, southeast China, Bolivia, and the Gulf of Mexico.
In some places, scientists speculate that efforts to slash pollution have caused warming to speed up. Sulfur dioxide, produced chiefly by coal power plants, blocks sunlight, with a cooling effect. In China, for instance, efforts to slash coal plant pollution have produced both clearer skies and a recent surge in warming, scientists believe. In other regions, it is unclear why warming has recently sped up.
In colored regions, warming has sped up. Darker colors indicate greater acceleration. Beaulieu et al.
The authors of the new study, published in Nature Communications, are also building an online dashboard where users can track the local rate of warming. They note that while climate change is fueling more extreme weather around the world, changes are unfolding faster in places where warming is accelerating. The more rapid the change, they say, the more difficult it will be for people to adapt.
While the new study shows regional surges in warming, there is some debate as to whether warming is accelerating across the planet as a whole. The last few years have seen global temperatures spike, but scientists are divided as to whether this is a statistical aberration or a sign that warming has actually sped up.
