Constraining the Nineteenth-Century Temperature Baseline for Global Warming

• Published in: Journal of climate Vol. 36; no. 18; pp. 6261 - 6272
• Main Authors: Schneider, L., Konter, O., Esper, J., Anchukaitis, K. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston American Meteorological Society 01.09.2023
• Subjects: 19th century; Archives & records; Bias; Climate; Climate change; Climate policy; Datasets; Estimates; General circulation models; Global warming; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Mean temperatures; Measurement techniques; Northern Hemisphere; Paris Agreement; Remote regions; Summer; Temperature; Temperature distribution; Temperature effects; Temperature fields; Tree rings; Uncertainty; Urban heat islands; Warm seasons; Europe

Since the Paris Agreement, climate policy has focused on 1.5° and 2°C maximum global warming targets. However, the agreement lacks a formal definition of the nineteenth-century “pre-industrial” temperature baseline for these targets. If global warming is estimated with respect to the 1850–1900 mean,...