The changes to Earth’s natural patterns reveal an interconnected web of ecological systems that are undergoing profound changes beyond what many researchers have predicted. Scientists say the culprit is clear: Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the relentless burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas has been adding heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere, leading to a sharp rise in global temperatures. The hottest year in recorded history was 2024, and each of the 10 warmest years on record have come in the past decade.

Since 1997, when nations agreed to limit planet-warming gases as part of the landmark Kyoto Protocol, humanity has released more greenhouse gases than in all prior history. The temperature rise associated with the growing volume of heat trapping gas has kicked in, and it is continuing to rise. And at the same time, the ability of the planet’s natural systems to absorb planet-warming gases like carbon dioxide appears to be diminishing.

David Gelles. One thing’s for sure, the weather is getting wilder.

The New York Times International Edition, Nova York,21-22 mar.2026, p.2 (adapted).