"Short-term Cooling on a Warming Planet"

How can there be global warming if the earth is currently cooling? This is a common and valid question and here is the answer:


This graph shows Global Average Temperature compared with the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) Index. The AMO Index is the average sea-surface temperature over the North Atlantic Ocean. The roughly parallel curves of the two parameters show that they are related: the increase in global temperature over time, coincident with the increase in greenhouse gases observed since the Industrial Revolution, is alternately obscured and enhanced by the AMO.

-Michon Scott, NOAA

For more information and continued discussion, visit Climate Watch Magazine published by NOAA Climate Services.