Energy & Science
Why Are Some Climate Models Running Red Hot? Scientists Have an Answer
Experts emphasize the importance of not making climate projections look worse than they already are.
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Something funny happened when, three years ago, climate scientists began reporting results from their latest generation of Earth models. A concerning number of them showed accelerated heating.
These “hot models” quickly raised alarm. It’s a puzzle that’s now well on its way to being solved, according to a commentary published today in the journal Nature by five leading scientists. Advances that include better understanding of the physics of clouds had the unanticipated effect of raising overall temperatures faster in some models.