"A steady and remarkable rise in average global ocean temperatures this year is now outpacing anything seen in four decades of satellite observations, causing many scientists to suddenly blare alarm over the risks and realities of climate change. But even those typically aligned on climate science can’t agree on what, exactly, triggered such rapid warming and how alarmed they should be.
They say there is so far no evidence that the planet has passed some climatic tipping point — though it is also too soon to rule that out.
“It’s a possibility, however small,” said Tianle Yuan, a senior research scientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He explained that the record warmth could instead merely reflect a temporary fluctuation on top of the long-term warming trend spurred by human-caused climate change."
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