Scientists are trying to solve the mystery of whether global warming is speeding up. A new study says it has the answer

Is the world getting hotter, faster? It’s a big question which has been puzzling and dividing scientists for years. A new paper says it has the answer, and it’s not good news. Global warming has accelerated “significantly” over the past 10 years, meaning the world may barrel through crucial global warming limits faster than expected, according to the study published Friday in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. As parts of the Northern Hemisphere recover from very cold blasts, it can be hard to remember just how warm the planet has been over the past few years, but it’s been on an exceptionally hot streak: 2024 was the hottest year on record, capping off the hottest decade in recorded history. The impacts of all this heat are clear; vast swaths of the world have reeled from devastating climate change-fueled extreme weather including heat waves, hurricanes, wildfires and floods. But Earth systems are very complex and it is hard to figure out whether a few abnormally hot years means the long-term trend of global warming is speeding up. In the new paper, scientists looked to answer the question by analyzing five large global temperature data sets and filtering out the

Mar 6, 2026 → Mar 6, 2026