The content of this website is no longer being updated. For information on current assessment activities, please visit http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment

Is the climate warming or cooling?

TitleIs the climate warming or cooling?
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2009
AuthorsEasterling, David R., and Michael F. Wehner
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume36
ISBN Number0094-8276
Keywords1610 Global Change: Atmosphere, 1620 Global Change: Climate dynamics, 3305 Atmospheric Processes: Climate change and variability, 3337 Atmospheric Processes: Global climate models, Climate change, global warming
Abstract

Numerous websites, blogs and articles in the media have claimed that the climate is no longer warming, and is now cooling. Here we show that periods of no trend or even cooling of the globally averaged surface air temperature are found in the last 34 years of the observed record, and in climate model simulations of the 20th and 21st century forced with increasing greenhouse gases. We show that the climate over the 21st century can and likely will produce periods of a decade or two where the globally averaged surface air temperature shows no trend or even slight cooling in the presence of longer‐term warming.

URLhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2009GL037810
DOI10.1029/2009Gl037810
Reference number

33

Short TitleIs the climate warming or cooling?
Citation Key33