If the new study is correct, global warming is at least a decade further ahead than we thought. But scientists say it is filled with errors and inconsistencies.

A controversial new study claims we may breach the 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) climate change increase threshold by the late 2020s — almost two decades earlier than current projections.

The study, published Feb. 5 in the journal Nature Climate Change, claims global surface temperatures had increased by 1.7 C (3 F) above pre-industrial averages by the year 2020.

However, other scientists have questioned the findings, saying that there are major flaws in the work.

  • silence7@slrpnk.netM
    0·
    10 months ago

    The big issue here is where to set the baseline; do we set it based on temperatures in the late 1800s, when there start to be widespread records of thermometer-based temperature readings (what we’ve done in the past) or do we set it at an earlier time, based on when people’s dumping of CO2 from burning fossil fuels had not yet caused warming.

    You can argue about the quality of any given proxy, but they do generally paint a similar picture.