The Atlantic Ocean has masked global warming by soaking up vast amounts of heat from the atmosphere, but that process is likely to reverse from around 2030 and spur fast temperature rises, scientists say.
The theory is the latest explanation for a slowdown in the pace of warming at the Earth's surface since about 1998. The hiatus has puzzled experts because it conflicts with the expected effects of rising emissions of greenhouse gases, especially from emerging nations such as China.
"We're pointing to the Atlantic as the driver of the hiatus," said a co-author of Thursday's study in the journal Science, Ka-Kit Tung of the University of Washington in Seattle.