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Is climate change accelerating after a record year of heat?

The record-breaking heat of 2023 has seen a rare disagreement break out between climate scientists, with some saying it shows Earth may have entered a new period of warming

By Madeleine Cuff

2 May 2024

The Sau water reservoir in Spain, during a drought in April last year
Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

For almost a year now, the planet has been in uncharted territory. Since June 2023, every consecutive month has been the hottest on record. Antarctic sea ice has been tracking at near-record lows for months. Sea surface temperatures have . And in the midst of this, the world has been gripped by floods, heatwaves, droughts and storms.

With each consecutive month of record-breaking temperatures, concerns are growing that the world…

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