(Agence France-Presse) A slowing in global warming that climate sceptics say undermines the greenhouse theory is simply a "hiatus" from higher temperatures, scientists said on Wednesday.
Grasping one of the thorniest issues in climate politics, the researchers said the recent slowdown lies in a natural but temporary cooling in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
"The current hiatus is part of natural climate variability," they said.
Similar events may occur again, but when assessed on a timescale of decades, "(the) warming trend is very likely to continue with greenhouse-gas increase," they said.
The question touches on an anomaly in climate science.