Climate change records may indicate global warming is accelerating faster than expected

Global climate records in 2023 and 2024 defy scientific explanation The record heat during 2023 and 2024 was a topic of debate at a recent climate science meeting. Andrew Freedman Axios

The year is closing out with more global temperature records that, in aggregate, largely defy what many climate scientists expected for 2024.

Why it matters: Among the potential factors driving this year's — as well as 2023's — record warmth is the unsettling possibility that global warming is accelerating and the planet's climate behaving differently than expected.

• If so, the climate scenarios that form the basis for countries' decarbonization goals could be faulty, with higher warming levels and greater societal consequences likely to arrive sooner than expected.
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