Cleaner shipping emissions may have warmed the planet – but only a bit

A drop in harmful sulphur emissions from global shipping is argued by some researchers to be a factor behind the record-breaking heat seen in 2023, particularly in the North Atlantic Ocean. While the drop has probably had only a very small warming effect on global average temperatures so far, it may have a more significant warming effect over coming decades.

To explain the unprecedented heat observed across much of the world in 2023, climate researchers point to two primary factors: the …