Earth is getting dimmer and hotter

地球变暗的危险悖论

Babbage from The Economist

2026-07-22

37 分钟
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Global dimming is making Earth hotter. Over the past few decades, the planet has been reflecting less sunlight and absorbing more heat, in ways that are confounding existing climate models. The reasons behind this dimming are still unclear but a surprising culprit is emerging—the welcome reduction in global air pollution. As Earth's temperatures continue to break records this year, what does global dimming mean for future warming?  Guests and hosts: Oliver Morton, planetary affairs editor at The EconomistAlok Jha, The Economist's science and technology editor  Topics covered: Global warming Albedo effectEarth's energy imbalance Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.
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  • The Economist.

  • In some parts of the world, the start of summer has been unseasonably hot.

  • There are red alert warnings across Europe as a dangerous heatwave grips the region.

  • Europe has had three heatwaves since May.

  • German weather service has recorded temperatures exceeding 41 degrees on Friday.

  • It was the hottest June ever recorded in Western Europe.

  • The deadly heatwave led to more than 10,000 excess deaths

  • with 9,000 of those in the 65 and older community.

  • While America's 4th of July celebrations took place under a sweltering heat dome.

  • Dangerous record high heat is impacting nearly 200 million Americans.

  • Climate change has undoubtedly made all of these conditions more extreme.

  • And worse is yet to come.

  • In the Pacific Ocean, an El Niño is getting underway.

  • This climate pattern will cause droughts in some areas and heavy flooding in others.

  • It'll contribute to an overall rise in global temperatures.

  • Predictions suggest that the 2026-27 El Niño will be a whopper.

  • But if you thought that that was the most worrying climate-related story this year, think again.

  • Something else has been going on for a very long time

  • with the amount of energy that's absorbed by the Earth.

  • And scientists have only recently started to grapple with it.