'Earth warming at record rate but no proof climate change accelerating

92% of last year's record heat was caused by humans, finds study by group of 57 scientists

- SETH BORENSTEIN

The rate Earth is warming hit an all-time high in 2023 with 92 per cent of last year's surprising record-shattering heat caused by humans, top scientists calculated.

The group of 57 scientists from around the world used UN-approved methods to examine what was behind last year's burst of heat. They said even with a faster warming rate they don't see evidence of significant acceleration in human-caused climate change beyond increased fossil fuel burning.

Last year's record temperatures were so unusual that scientists have been debating what was behind the jump and whether climate change is accelerating or if other factors are in play.

"If you look at this world accelerating or going through a big tipping point, things aren't doing that," study lead author Piers Forster, a Leeds University climate scientist, said. It's pretty much explained by the buildup of carbon dioxide from rising fossil fuel use, he and a co-author said.