Scientists are rushing to solve the riddle; climate change deniers are having a field day.
But the answer to why global warming seems to be on hiatus is much more complex and ominous than it seems.
The oceans are what is slowing down global warming. For now, they are absorbing huge quantity of heat. That allowed the climate trend to level off about 10 years ago.
That does not mean that temperatures are going down. They actually are steadily climbing. They're just not doing so as fast as scientists predicted.
Sceptics of course are agog. Scientists, on the other hand, are alarmed. The heat sink, which occurs deep below the sea surface, allows for a moderate absorption of global heat.
The question is: And what happens when ocean waters heat up? And if we do nothing, how long before there is a spike in temperatures?
Although periods of 'leveling' off were predicted and happen from time to time, mean temperatures are still climbing.
What however, is hard to explain is why the temperature is remaining somewhat steady while carbon dioxide levels have soared in the past decade. But the huge amounts of energy and heat are showing up in deep buoys that record the sea temperatures. In the long run however, predictions of temperatures rises to 2 degrees Celsius by century's end is still on track.
Source : the Independent UK/ 7.22.13
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