Here are the places where global warming is slowest and why

more than four times faster than anywhere else on the planet. The World Meteorological Organization said recently that Europe, where extreme summer heat has killed thousands in recent years, is the fastest-warming continent.” class=”wpds-c-hcZlgz wpds-c-hcZlgz-bkfjoi-font-georgia wpds-c-hcZlgz-jDmrXh-width-mdCenter wpds-c-hcZlgz-iPJLV-css mw-md pb-md font–article-body font-copy ma-auto pl-sm pr-sm”>It has become common to focus on the fastest warming places, regions where human-induced climate change is raising temperatures at an alarming rate. In the Arctic, where sea ice is rapidly disappearing, warming could be happening more than four times faster than anywhere else on the planet. The World Meteorological Organization recently said that Europe, where extreme summer heat has killed thousands of people in recent years, is the fastest-warming continent.

The flip side of the world’s global warming hotspots: Parts of the planet that are warming more slowly than others, often much slower than the global average of about 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the mid-20th century , according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the nonprofit Berkeley Earth.

But rather than offering lessons on how to limit warming, these relatively cold spots offer another example of how humanity has harmed the planet.

Here are some of them and the influences behind them:

A depleted ozone layer slows Antarctic warming

A

t

L

a

no

t

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no A f R I c A

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Thickness of the ozone layer

October 2022

The scale for the thickness of the ozone layer ranges from 0 to 500 Dobson units. Scientists use the word “hole” to describe areas with ozone concentrations below 220 Dobson units. Source: NASA Earth Observations

A

t

L

a

no

t

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no A f R I c A

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Thickness of the ozone layer

October 2022

The scale for the thickness of the ozone layer ranges from 0 to 500 Dobson units. Scientists use the word “hole” to describe areas with ozone concentrations below 220 Dobson units. Source: NASA Earth Observations

P

a

c

I

f

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no

I

no

d

I

a

no

OR

c

And

a

no St OR u T h A m And R I c A

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Thickness of the ozone layer

October 2022

The scale for the thickness of the ozone layer ranges from 0 to 500 Dobson units. Scientists use the word “hole” to describe areas with ozone concentrations below 220 Dobson units. Source: NASA Earth Observations

P

a

c

I

f

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no

I

no

d

I

a

no

OR

c

And

a

no St OR u T h A m And R I c A

A

u

St

T

R

A

L

I

A

Thickness of the ozone layer

October 2022

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

The scale for the thickness of the ozone layer ranges from 0 to 500 Dobson units. Scientists use the word “hole” to describe areas with ozone concentrations below 220 Dobson units. Source: NASA Earth Observations

P

a

c

I

f

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no

I

no

d

I

a

no

OR

c

And

a

no

St

OR

u

T

h

A

m

And

R

I

c

A

A

u

St

T

R

A

L

I

A

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Thickness of the ozone layer

October 2022

The scale for the thickness of the ozone layer ranges from 0 to 500 Dobson units. Scientists use the word “hole” to describe areas with ozone concentrations below 220 Dobson units.

Source: NASA Earth Observations

While West Antarctica is one of the fastest-warming places on Earth, the eastern part of the planet’s coldest continent has warmed much more slowly.

One reason, scientists believe, is the “hole” in the ozone layer, a thinning of the atmospheric layer that acts as a shield from harmful ultraviolet sunlight. While efforts to reduce the use of ozone-depleting chemicals have helped reduce the hole, it is expected to remain for decades to come.

The theory is that the ozone hole alters the circulation of high-level winds that drive the weather in a way that makes it more difficult for cold polar air to escape, said Robert Rohde, lead scientist at Berkeley Earth.

Parts of East Antarctica have even cooled slightly from 1951 to 1980 temperatures.

Another factor explaining why the Earth’s southern pole is warming much more slowly than its northern one: Antarctica’s mountainous terrain, said Zeke Hausfather, head of climate research at financial firm Stripe and contributor to Berkeley Earth. The continent’s average elevation of more than 7,000 feet above sea level means a more constant snow and ice cover, which means a high albedo — an ability to reflect much of the sun’s rays and prevent the continent from absorbing as much radiation solar.

one study found, it would warm much more quickly.” class=”wpds-c-hcZlgz wpds-c-hcZlgz-bkfjoi-font-georgia wpds-c-hcZlgz-jDmrXh-width-mdCenter wpds-c-hcZlgz-iPJLV-css mw-md pb-md font–article-body font-copy ma-auto pl-sm pr-sm”>If Antarctica were as flat as the Arctic, it would warm much faster, according to one study.

A melt flow affects waters near Greenland

Variation of ice thickness

April 2002 – April 2022

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Ice thickness variation is shown for Greenland only and is measured in meters of water equivalent. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Variation of ice thickness

April 2002 – April 2022

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Ice thickness variation is shown for Greenland only and is measured in meters of water equivalent.

Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

P

a

c

I

f

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no

Variation of ice thickness

April 2002 – April 2022

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Ice thickness variation is shown for Greenland only and is measured in meters of water equivalent. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

P

a c

I

f

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no

Variation of ice thickness

April 2002 – April 2022

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Ice thickness variation is shown for Greenland only and is measured in meters of water equivalent. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

P

a

c

I

f

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no

Variation of ice thickness

April 2002 – April 2022

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

The variation in thickness is expressed in meters of water equivalent. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Some of the fastest warming on the planet is occurring in its iciest regions, including the Arctic. But as a byproduct, melting ice means some nearby waters are slower warming, if not cooling.

scientists fear an important ocean current is weakening. Ice losses in Greenland are so massive, they cannot be stopped, recent research found.” class=”wpds-c-hcZlgz wpds-c-hcZlgz-bkfjoi-font-georgia wpds-c-hcZlgz-jDmrXh-width-mdCenter wpds-c-hcZlgz-iPJLV-css mw-md pb-md font–article-body font-copy ma-auto pl-sm pr-sm”>The effect is evident in a small portion of the North Atlantic, just south of Greenland, where waters have cooled slightly and are becoming so low in salinity that scientists fear a major ocean current is weakening. Ice losses in Greenland are so massive they can’t be stopped, recent research has found.

cooling sections of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. The relatively cool spot near Greenland is isolated; Antarctica and much of the global south are generally warming more slowly than areas in the north, said Gavin Schmidt, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.” class=”wpds-c-hcZlgz wpds-c-hcZlgz-bkfjoi-font-georgia wpds-c-hcZlgz-jDmrXh-width-mdCenter wpds-c-hcZlgz-iPJLV-css mw-md pb-md font–article-body font-copy ma-auto pl-sm pr-sm”>An onslaught of cold water flowing from collapsing ice sheets has also been linked to the cooling of sections of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. The relatively cool place near Greenland is isolated; Antarctica and much of the southern hemisphere is generally warming more slowly than areas in the north, said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

“Oceans generally warm more slowly than land, and the southern hemisphere has more oceans than the north,” Schmidt said in an email.

Intense air pollution protects India from faster warming

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Fine dust pollution (PM 2.5) in 2019

Micrograms per cubic meter

Source: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center

Fine dust pollution (PM 2.5) in 2019

Micrograms per cubic meter

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Source: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center

P

a

c

I

f

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no

Fine dust pollution (PM 2.5) in 2019

Micrograms per cubic meter

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Source: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center

P

a

c

I

f

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Fine dust pollution (PM 2.5) in 2019

Micrograms per cubic meter

Source: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center

P

a

c

I

f

I

c

OR

c

And

a

no

A

u

St

T

R

A

L

I

A

Fine dust pollution (PM 2.5) in 2019

Micrograms per cubic meter

Temperature change between

2017-2021 and 1951-1980

Source: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center

Among populous areas, India is one of the slowest warming areas, due in part to another byproduct of greenhouse gas emissions: air pollution.

Aerosols, or fine airborne particles, generally have a cooling effect because they block and scatter sunlight and can stimulate cloud formation, Hausfather said.

And pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, released when sulfur-containing fuel such as coal, oil or diesel is burned, can be particularly effective at cooling localized areas. Unlike, say, carbon dioxide, it doesn’t diffuse far from where it’s emitted, he said.

reaching “severe” levels last month.” class=”wpds-c-hcZlgz wpds-c-hcZlgz-bkfjoi-font-georgia wpds-c-hcZlgz-jDmrXh-width-mdCenter wpds-c-hcZlgz-iPJLV-css mw-md pb-md font–article-body font-copy ma-auto pl-sm pr-sm”>While European countries and the United States imposed regulations decades ago that have drastically reduced air pollution, India continues to have some of the worst urban smog in the world, reaching “severe” levels last month.

contributing to oppressive and dangerous conditions. But parts of the country have seen less than half a degree Celsius of temperature increase compared with its average temperatures from 1951-1980, less than half the global average.” class=”wpds-c-hcZlgz wpds-c-hcZlgz-bkfjoi-font-georgia wpds-c-hcZlgz-jDmrXh-width-mdCenter wpds-c-hcZlgz-iPJLV-css mw-md pb-md font–article-body font-copy ma-auto pl-sm pr-sm”>That’s not to say India can escape extreme heat, with its tropical humidity contributing to oppressive and dangerous conditions. But some parts of the country have seen less than half a degree Celsius of temperature increase compared to average temperatures from 1951 to 1980, less than half the global average.