By Sushant Agarwal
Published on | Jun 27, 2025
Earth’s energy imbalance has doubled since the 2000s, signaling rapidly accelerating climate change, a new study warns.
Scientists explain this as the difference between solar heat entering Earth & heat leaving it. When more is absorbed than released, the planet warms.
According to the study, the average imbalance was 0.6 W/m² in the mid-2000s. Today, it’s around 1.3 W/m² — a dramatic rise in stored heat.
Over 90% of the trapped heat has gone into oceans, not the atmosphere or land. This contributes to marine heatwaves and coral bleaching.
Scientists report that average global temperatures have increased by 1.3–1.5°C, mainly due to greenhouse gas emissions trapping excess energy.
Satellites since the 1980s and ocean floats since the 1990s show the same trend — rapidly growing energy imbalance across the planet.
Scientists are concerned: current climate models predicted less than half of this energy increase. Reality is outpacing projections.
New research shows fewer bright, reflective clouds and more jumbled ones that trap heat. This may be linked to global warming feedback loops.
Experts say we may face more extreme heatwaves, droughts, and storms. Only models with high climate sensitivity match real-world data.
Satellites offer early warning of climate shifts, but scientists fear US funding cuts may undermine this vital monitoring system.