The satellite data deals a setback to climate deniers that frequently cite the satellite record of atmospheric temperatures as evidence that human-caused global warming either doesn't exist or is far smaller than scientists claim.
A prominent proponent of this view is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won three primaries on Tuesday night, bolstering his bid to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.
At a Senate subcommittee hearing on Dec. 8, 2015, Cruz said:
"According to the satellite data, there has been no significant global warming for the past 18 years. Those are the data. The global warming alarmists don't like this data. They are inconvenient to their narrative, but facts and evidence matters."...
Kevin Trenberth, a senior climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., told Mashable that El Niño likely accounted for about 0.15 degrees Celsius of the 2015 warming at the surface, and that it has a delayed influence on the atmosphere, which likely explains the February spike, which Trenberth said "was expected."
Indeed, those who are invested in the satellite data are blaming the spike solely on El Niño, but that argument misses the full picture of what's going on, according to Trenberth and many other climate researchers.
What's also happening is that the oceans have been heating up to record highs as they absorb the majority of the added heat from human-caused global warming.
...
Although there are spikes and dips associated with El Niño events and other shorter term sources of climate variability, each temperature spike has jumped off of a higher floor, like a person jumping up and down on an upwardly moving escalator. This is an indication of global warming.
Read more at Climate Deniers Lose Key Talking Point as Satellites Show Temperatures Hit All-Time Highs
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