In a recent edition of NASA's "Ask a Climate Scientist" video series, scientist Joshua Willis stands in front of a black screen, makes a few goofy faces and gives a brief answer to what has become a common question about climate science.
"A lot of people ask me: 'Has there been a pause in global warming because, like, temperatures aren't increasing as fast as they were a decade ago?'" Willis says.
"And I always say, you know, paws are for kittens and puppies, because global warming is definitely still increasing," Willis continues, smiling at his wordplay, as graphics of cute baby animals fill the screen.
It's true that Willis and nearly every other climate scientist dismiss the idea that global warming has paused. Yet the fact remains that average surface temperatures worldwide have not increased since around the turn of the century.
To the casual observer, the lack of warming at the Earth's surface, contrasted to climate scientists' insistence that the planet is still warming, might seem like a conundrum.
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