The world is warming faster than expected - scientists now think they know why

Last year was the hottest on record, the oceans "boiled", glaciers melted at alarming rates and this left scientists scrambling to figure out exactly why.

They know that the extraordinary heat was driven by a number of factors, mainly pollution from the warming of the planet from the burning of fossil fuels and the natural El Nino climate pattern.

But they did not explain the extremely rapid rise in temperature.

Now a new study published in the journal Science says it has identified the missing piece of the puzzle: clouds.

To be more specific, the rapid increase in warming was driven by a lack of low-level clouds over the oceans, according to the research – findings that could have alarming implications for future warming.

"Simply put, fewer bright, low clouds mean that the planet has darkened, allowing it to absorb more sunlight," said Helge Goessling, report author and climate physicist at the Alfred Wegener Institute. in Germany.

This phenomenon is called "albedo" and refers to the ability of surfaces to reflect the sun's energy back into space. Earth's albedo has been falling since the 1970s, according to the report.

The scientists looked at NASA satellite data, weather data and climate models and found that falling low clouds lowered the planet's albedo to record levels last year. CNN, the Telegraph reports.

What the study can't yet explain for sure is why this is happening.

"This is so complex and so hard to understand," Goessling said.

Goessling believes it's likely the result of a combination of factors. Natural climate changes, including changing ocean patterns, may also have contributed.

But Goessling points to another, more alarming factor: global warming itself.

Low-level clouds tend to thrive in a cool, moist lower atmosphere.

As the planet's surface warms, this can cause them to thin out or dissipate completely, with low clouds disappearing due to global warming and their disappearance then fueling further warming.

"If this is happening, future warming predictions may be underestimated, and we should expect quite intense warming in the future," Goessling said.

Otherwise, clouds may seem simple, even mundane, but they are infinitely complex. /Telegraph/