China extends anti-dumping duties on stainless steel imports
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced Monday it will extend anti-dumping duties on specific stainless steel imports from the European Union,...
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.
The U.S. economy faces a 40% risk of recession in the second half of 2025, JP Morgan analysts said on Wednesday, citing rising tariffs and stagflation concerns.
China has ramped up efforts to protect communities impacted by flood control measures, introducing stronger compensation policies and direct aid from the central government.
Severe rain in Venezuela has caused rivers to overflow and triggered landslides, sweeping away homes and collapsing a highway bridge, with five states affected and no casualties reported so far.
A malfunction in the radar transmission system at the Area Control Center in Milan suspended more than 300 flights at the weekend, across northwest Italy since Saturday evening according to Italy's air traffic controller Enav (National Agency for Flight Assistance).
Thousands of protesters rallied in Bangkok on Saturday, demanding Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign as political and economic tensions mount.
Following a deadly glacier collapse in Blatten, near the Swiss Alpine village of Kandersteg, the town is on high alert as melting permafrost and shifting rock threaten another potential disaster after it was buried a month ago.
The Russian government has approved the creation of the Black Sea State Nature Biosphere Reserve, according to a decree published Sunday on the government’s official website. Black Sea Biosphere Reserve is the largest nature reserve in Ukraine which is now under Russian occupation.
Over a third of Tuvalu's population has applied for Australia's climate visa, as rising sea levels threaten to submerge the Pacific nation within decades.
Heatwaves gripping Europe have pushed temperatures above 40°C, fueling wildfires and triggering weather alerts across several countries.
Greek firefighters are battling a large wildfire south of Athens as the country faces its first major heat wave of the summer, with temperatures nearing 40°C and strong winds fuelling the flames.
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