We may be in for more global warming than we hoped, New Scientist can reveal. Over the past few years, a number of studies have concluded that a given level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere produces less warming than previously thought. This rare good news on climate made headlines around the world. But these studies were carried out towards the end of a period of little warming. Do the results still stand given the record warming in 2014,2015 and 2016? To find out, New Scientist asked those behind the studies what would happen if the latest global temperature data was plugged into their models. One headline-making 2013 study had concluded that the immediate warming that would result from a doubling of CO_2 in the atmosphere would be around 1.3 ℃ - significantly less than most previous estimates. If correct, this would mean we still have a chance of limiting warming to below the "dangerous" point of 2 ℃ despite soaring CO_2 levels.
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