Humans responsible for record-breaking hot years since 1930s: Study

Sydney: Humans have triggered the past record-breaking hot years experienced on the Earth since 1930s, says a study that suggests that without human-induced climate change, recent hot summers and years would not have occurred.

According to the new study, record-breaking hot years attributable to climate change globally are 1937, 1940, 1941, 1943-44, 1980-1981, 1987-1988, 1990, 1995, 1997-98, 2010 and 2014.

The researchers also found that this effect has been masked until recently in many areas of the world by the wide use of industrial aerosols, which have a cooling effect on temperatures.

The researchers examined weather events that exceeded the range of natural variability and used climate modelling to compare those events to a world without human-induced greenhouse gases.

Aerosols in high concentrations reflect more heat into space, thereby cooling temperatures. However, when those aerosols are removed from the atmosphere, warming returns rapidly.

The researchers observed this impact when they looked at five different regions: Central England, Central Europe, the central United States, East Asia and Australia.