A new study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research has found that global warming has accelerated significantly since 2015, according to research published in Geophysical Research Letters. The study, led by lead author Stefan Rahmstorf, marks the first time researchers have detected a statistically significant increase in warming rates after accounting for known temperature-influencing phenomena like El Niño and volcanic eruptions.
Over the past ten years, the warming rate has been approximately 0.35 degrees Celsius per decade, compared to an average of just under 0.2 degrees per decade between 1970 and 2015. This represents the highest warming rate recorded since measurements began in 1880.
if the current warming trend continues, it would lead to the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree warming limit being exceeded in the long term before 2030
Rahmstorf warned that if the current warming trend continues, it would lead to the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree warming limit being exceeded in the long term before 2030. The research highlights Europe as one of the world's fastest-warming regions, with Greece experiencing severe heatwaves in 2023.