Have you heard about accelerated warming? In this [Infospill] section we'll discuss James Hansen's research that has caused an uproar in the climate community, suggesting global heating has accelerated in trend. Unrelated to tipping points, this is a specific phenomenon that has to do with the cooling effect of aerosols, making everything infinitely worse... To make up for the grim news, in the [Offering] section we will touch upon how slowing down is good for us and how sleep is political.

Timestamps

00:33 [Infospill] Global warming unchained as sulfate aerosols decline worldwide

22:36 [Offering] Sleeping in the dark - a response to a sped-up society

[Infospill] Global warming unchained as sulfate aerosols decline worldwide

In the last 3 years the Earth has experienced levels of warming that cannot be fully explained by current climate models. The main causes could be (i) natural variability in the climate, (ii) a new cloud feedback due to warming or (iii) reductions in global sulfate aerosols which have a cooling effect. We explore mostly the explanation by Hansen and others that aerosols reductions due to a new shipping fuel regulations are the central actor in the story, and how their impact has been underestimated by the models used by the IPCC. Implications of this scenario are explored in future episodes.

[Offering] Sleeping in the dark - a response to a sped-up society

Sleep is what happens when our bodies are tired, but also relaxed, also, ideally, safe. Globally, humans are kind of sleep deprived. Insufficient sleep is considered to be a public health epidemic that is unrecognized. That's not going well at all, neither for us, not for the Earth. I want us, you, to take a look at your sleep patterns. What sleep do you need to recharge?

Resources

Main reference:

Hansen et al. "Global warming has accelerated: are the United Nations and the public well-informed?" Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development 67 (2025)

Further reading/listening:

Leon Simons, "Global Warming Acceleration", talk @ Global Hearting Emergency Conference (2025) - https://youtu.be/L8C8dOYp6Ls

Leon Simons, "+3ºC by 2050?!", discussion on Climate Chat podcast, based on a recent report of the German Meteorological Society and Physical Society (see refs in the video description) - https://youtu.be/TmZbwLC-kEw

Foster et al. "Indicators of Global and Climate Change 2024: annual update of key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence". Earth System Science Data Discussions (2025)

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Hosted & Edited by: Robi & M.

Sound engineering by: Marius

Montage: Ioni

Theme music: Teo

Graphic artist & illustrator: Mina

Social media: Grc

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