Global warming began in the 1800s: study

An international study has found that human-induced global warming began in the 1830s, during the Industrial Revolution. The research, published in the journal Nature, shows the Earth’s climate responded rapidly to small increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions that came with industrial progress. They used a collection of natural archives – such as climate histories preserved in corals, tree rings and ice cores – to determine this finding. Researchers said people at the time wouldn’t have noticed the temperature changes as they were too small and incremental. It took a century before the temperature difference became noticeable to people, researchers said. Previous climate models show sustained warming trends beginning in the 20th century. “But the early onset of warming detected in this study indicates the climate did respond in a rapid and measurable way to even the small increase in carbon emissions during the start of the industrial age,” explained researcher Dr Helen McGregor, a University of Wollongong climatologist. The study took into account the volcanic eruptions of the 19th century, including the Mount Tambora eruption in 1815, the largest and deadliest volcanic eruption in recorded history. It also caused a volcanic winter the next year. The researchers found eruptions such as this played a minor factor in the early onset of climate change. This research involved 25 scientists from Australia, the US, Europe and Asia. The Australian National University’s associate professor Nerilie Abram, lead researcher, said her team wasn't expecting these results. “It was one of those moments where science really surprised us,” Abram said.