Hamas says it handed over list of Israelis and Palestinians for swap deal
Hamas said on Wednesday (on 8 October) it had exchanged a list of the names of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released under a swap ...
2023 defied climate expectations. It wasn’t just hotter than predicted — it was strangely hot. Now, scientists are piecing together what caused this anomaly, raising fresh concerns about Earth’s climate systems.
Gavin Schmidt, NASA’s top climate modeller at the Goddard Institute for Space Science, admitted to feeling “humbled” by 2023’s extraordinary temperatures. Writing in Nature earlier this year, Schmidt noted that the year was warmer than models anticipated. The deviation, unexplained at first, sparked worries that climate change is entering uncharted territory.
At December’s American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting, the world's largest Earth science conference, experts revisited the mystery. Like detectives solving a case, scientists meticulously ruled out some “suspects” while identifying others.
Key Suspects Behind the Heat Surge
El Niño
The natural El Niño event, which warms the tropical Pacific, began in 2023, contributing to global temperatures. Yet the warming exceeded even El Niño’s usual influence, raising eyebrows.
Cleaner Air from Shipping
New rules to reduce sulphur in ship fuel have lowered pollution levels. However, cleaner air allows more sunlight to reach the ocean surface, which adds to global warming.
Volcano and Solar Activity
The Hunga Tonga eruption in 2022 injected water vapour into the atmosphere but also sulphates, which slightly cooled the Earth. Meanwhile, the Sun reached its peak activity cycle, contributing minimal extra heat.
Cloud Cover Changes
Research by Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute found Earth reflected less sunlight in 2023 — its dimmest year yet. Reduced cloud cover, particularly over northern mid-latitudes, amplified warming. Cleaner air may have played a role, alongside long-term climate shifts that are altering cloud patterns.
The Bigger Picture
Global warming is accelerating. Some scientists argue that the drop in sulphur emissions is now speeding up heating, while changing cloud dynamics add to the uncertainty.
What’s Next
GISS modellers are now combining the latest data on sulphur emissions, cloud dynamics, and sunlight reflectivity into updated climate simulations. Schmidt expects these runs to clarify the contributions of various factors and potentially reshape projections for Earth’s future.
The findings are clear: warming is unlikely to slow any time soon.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
Azerbaijan is stepping up its renewable energy ambitions with plans to develop eight new solar and wind plants by 2027, backed by $2.8 billion in investment and aimed at exceeding its 2030 climate targets ahead of schedule.
On the second day of Baku Climate Action Week (BCAW), attention centred on strengthening international cooperation, accelerating the transition to clean energy, and ensuring a fair and inclusive approach.
Super Typhoon Ragasa lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday.
When Climate Week kicks off in New York City on Sunday (21 September), it will mark the largest event of its kind yet, with organisers reporting a record number of companies participating and more events than ever before.
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