Global warming has accelerated in the past decade with a new study concluding it with 98% certainty. The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, detected a statistically significant acceleration of the warming trend after accounting for known natural influences.
The estimated warming rate over the past ten years has been around 0.35°C per decade, compared to just under 0.2°C per decade on average from 1970 to 2015. This recent rate is higher than in any previous decade since the beginning of instrumental records in 1880.
The study warns that if the warming rate of the past 10 years continues, the Paris Agreement 1.5°C warming limit will be breached by 2030. Stopping this trend is in our hands, as studies show that global warming will stop around the time humanity reaches zero CO2 emissions.
The study comes at a time when there is major disruption in climate action, with the US withdrawing from international organisations and conventions on climate change. Experts have noted that the Iran conflict is also a distraction from urgent efforts to curb emissions.
