The world possibly passed 1.7°C warming already according to sea sponges

The sea sponges have spoken: A new study (pdf) by the University of Western Australia on sponges in the Caribbean Sea suggests that the world may have warmed by 1.7°C since the start of the industrial revolution, The Guardian writes. This is half a degree higher than the estimates used by the UN’s climate panel.

The methodology: The study used the sclerosponge, a long-lived species that records sea temperature changes in its calcium carbonate skeleton, to reconstruct 300 years of ocean history. The researchers found that human-induced warming began as early as the 1860s.

The findings are drawing criticism: The findings of the study faced skepticism from several scientists who argue tests were too localized and small in scale. The NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies director Gavin Schmidt expressed doubt that a single record could reliably determine global warming since the pre-industrial era.

REMEMBER- The world already broke warming records: Global warming was set to reach 1.4°C warming above pre-industrial levels in 2023, making it the hottest year on record. Scientists also predict that 2024 will likely be the hottest year in recorded history, with temperatures predicted to rise to 1.6°C.