Not El Nino: Earth Is Heating Up Faster Than Ever And Humans Are The Major Reason. Here's How

Published 11 June 2026 · india

Not El Nino: Earth Is Heating Up Faster Than Ever And Humans Are The Major Reason. Here's How Published By, Last Updated: June 11, 2026

Not El Nino: Earth Is Heating Up Faster Than Ever And Humans Are The Major Reason. Here's How Published By, Last Updated: June 11, 2026, 09:16 IST A new study estimates that human-induced warming reached 1.37°C above pre-industrial levels in 2025 and is now increasing at around 0.27°C per decade. Rapid Read According to the study, global greenhouse-gas emissions averaged about 54.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually between 2015 and 2024 - the highest sustained level ever recorded. (AI generated image) The world’s fever is rising, and scientists say humans are turning up the heat faster than ever before. A major international climate assessment published this year has found that human-caused global warming has reached its highest recorded pace in modern history. The study estimates that human-induced warming reached 1.37°C above pre-industrial levels in 2025 and is now increasing at around 0.27°C per decade, matching the fastest rate ever observed in the instrumental record. The findings come from the latest edition of the Indicators of Global Climate Change report, compiled by more than 70 scientists from institutions around the world using methodologies closely aligned with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). But what exactly is driving this acceleration? Why are temperatures continuing to climb despite rapid growth in renewable energy? And how much of the recent warming can really be blamed on human activity? The answers lie in a combination of record greenhouse-gas emissions, rising methane concentrations, changes in air pollution patterns and an Earth system that is accumulating heat at an unprecedented pace. Humans Are Responsible For Almost All Of Today’s Warming The new assessment estimates that average global warming over the 2016-2025 period reached 1.26°C relative to the 1850-1900 baseline. Of that, 1.24°C was attributed directly to human activities. In other words, nearly all of the observed warming can be traced to greenhouse gases and other human influences rather than natural climate variability. The report states that human-induced warming reached 1.37°C in 2025 and continued increasing at approximately 0.27°C per decade. Scientists describe this as an “all-time high" rate of warming.

This distinction is important because individual years can be influenced by natural factors such as El Nino, volcanic eruptions or changes in solar activity. The long-term warming trend, however, reflects the cumulative impact of human actions. Record Emissions Remain The Biggest Driver The most important reason global warming continues to accelerate is that humanity is still releasing enormous quantities of greenhouse gases. According to the study, global greenhouse-gas emissions averaged about 54.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually between 2015 and 2024 – the highest sustained level ever recorded. Carbon dioxide remains the largest contributor. Produced primarily through the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, CO₂ can remain in the atmosphere for centuries, trapping heat and steadily raising global temperatures. While many countries have expanded solar and wind power, fossil fuels still account for the majority of global energy consumption. As a result, emissions have not fallen fast enough to slow the overall warming trend significantly. The study notes that there are signs CO₂ emission growth is slowing, but emissions remain far above the levels required to meet international climate targets. Methane: The Fast-Acting Climate Threat If carbon dioxide is the long-term driver of climate change, methane is its powerful accelerator. Methane is emitted from oil and gas operations, coal mining, livestock farming, rice cultivation and waste dumps. Molecule for molecule, it traps far more heat than carbon dioxide over shorter timescales. Scientists have repeatedly warned that rising methane concentrations are making near-term warming worse because methane’s warming effect is particularly intense during its first two decades in the atmosphere. The continued growth of methane emissions has therefore become a major contributor to the rapid rise in global temperatures observed in recent years. The challenge is especially significant because methane reductions can deliver relatively quick climate benefits compared to CO₂ cuts. Cleaner Air Can Reveal More Warming One of the more counterintuitive findings in recent climate research involves air pollution. For decades, industrial activities and shipping emitted sulphur-containing aerosols that reflected sunlight back into space. These particles were harmful to human health but also produced a temporary cooling effect.