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Martin Hodson

@martinjhodson.bsky.social
2.7K followers 1.1K following 437 posts

Work at both universities in Oxford, UK. Teach climate and biodiversity loss. Research in plant, archaeological and environmental science. Investigating carbon sequestration in phytoliths within the soil. Principal Tutor for www.cres.org.uk

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Reposted by Martin Hodson
William Gosling @ecologypast.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Soil phytolith assemblages reflect palm community composition in western Amazonia Open access: McMichael, C. N. H., Guerra, D., Witteveen, N. H., Heijink, B. M., Zwarts, A., Zuquim, G., Balslev, H., Ruokolainen, K., & Tuomisto, H. (2026). Soil phytolith assemblages reflect palm community…
ecologyofthepast.info
Soil phytolith assemblages reflect palm community composition in western Amazonia
Open access: McMichael, C. N. H., Guerra, D., Witteveen, N. H., Heijink, B. M., Zwarts, A., Zuquim, G., Balslev, H., Ruokolainen, K., & Tuomisto, H. (2026). Soil phytolith assemblages reflect palm community composition in western Amazonia. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 344, 105443.
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Reposted by Martin Hodson
Will Yeates @wyeates.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
New polling: climate change is back in people’s top priorities
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New polling: climate change is back in people’s top priorities
Persuasion UK has released polling on climate salience following the UK’s hottest summer to date. Climate is now in people’s top five issues.
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Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
El Niño is breaking every existing record already, and it's got weeks to go before it's likely to hit a peak. We're going to see a warmer world than any humans before us this year billmckibben.substack.com/p/hold-my-wa...
billmckibben.substack.com
Hold my (warm) beer
It’s Existential Crises Week!
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Doug Parr @dougparr.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
New analysis from US climate scientists says 450,000 deaths from El Nino heat stress It's a “postcard from our future” as world warms past 1.5C "we will see never-before-experienced heat extremes, with consequences on health, food security, water stress" www.theguardian.com/environment/...
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Got it, and started it! Bit scary! Well a lot actually......
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Reposted by Martin Hodson
Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 14/09/2026
REMINDER: Trump has overseen a larger fall in coal-fired power than any other US president (ie, other things equal, the EPA repealing power-plant CO2 rules means more coal power,…but other things are not equal, because most coal plants are old and expensive) www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-tru...
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
My recent paper has been reviewed! bioengineer.org/forty-five-y...
bioengineer.org
Forty-five years studying plant silicon and phytoliths: a personal
When Martin J. Hodson walked through the door of Dafydd Wynn Parry’s office at Bangor University in Wales on 20 October 1980, he had no idea that the encounter would define the next four and a half d
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
If you are in the Bedfordshire, UK area, then this event might appeal to you!
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Reposted by Martin Hodson
Damian Carrington @dpcarrington.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
August was joint-hottest month ever recorded globally - Temperatures reached 1.65C above preindustrial levels, months before #ElNino system reaches full strength @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social #climatecrisis Story by @fionaharvey.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
August was joint-hottest month ever recorded globally
Temperatures reached 1.65C above preindustrial levels, months before El Niño system reaches full strength
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Thanks to the International Phytolith Society (IPS) for posting my blog, "A new personal history of plant silicon and #phytolith research", promoting my recent paper. #plantscience 🧪 🏺 phytoliths.org/blog/4807/a-...
At the 14th IMPR, a special presentation was made to Margarita Osterrieth, the Argentinian phytolith researcher, and me, in recognition of our many years working on phytoliths (15th July 2025).The conference photo of the 14th IMPR, which was held in Barcelona, Spain, in July 2025.The conference photo of the 9th ICSA, which was held in Belgrade, Serbia, in September 2025 (Thanks to Dr Predrag Bosnić for the photos of the 9th ICSA).
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
My latest paper is a cross between autobiography, history and review. 45 years of plant silicon and #phytolith research!! #PlantScience #SoilScience 🧪 🏺 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Word cloud for Martin Hodson’s Google Scholar page
made in Scholar Goggler (https://scholargoggler.com/), which
is created and maintained by Ryan Morin (rdmorin@sfu.ca).
Conducted in February 2026The two "subfields" of plant Si research and phytolith research.
Plant Si research is largely covered in the International Conference on Silicon in Agriculture (ICSA) series of meetings, while phytolith research is largely covered by the International Meeting on Phytolith Research (IMPR) meetings. ICSA includes a greater range of subject areas, while IMPR mostly concerns archaeology and palaeoecology.
There is, however, an area of overlap, and this is discussed in the main text.
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Reposted by Martin Hodson
George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
This is what the billionaire press and many politicians were campaigning so hard to destroy. Their freedom to drive took precedence over our children's freedom to thrive. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Ulez led to better lung size and function among London children, study finds
Researchers find capacity stunted by pollution restored after introduction of ultra-low emission zone
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Timothy Harvie @timothyharvie.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Just received proofs for The Routledge Handbook of Ecotheology. We have an incredible group of scholars and it was a privilege to work with each one. Take a look at the TOC. We’re hoping it’ll be out this autumn.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 02/08/2026
‘We cannot magic up more water’: the supply problems putting housing targets in England at risk
theguardian.com
‘We cannot magic up more water’: the supply problems putting housing targets in England at risk
Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government’s plans for new homes The government’s housebuilding agenda is hitting the stark reality of a lack of water and crumbling infrastructure across the east and south-east of England. Half the country was declared to be in serious drought this week, for the second consecutive year, with the Environment Agency warning of dire consequences for the economy, environment and wildlife. Continue reading...
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Damian Carrington @dpcarrington.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
‘Extremely scary findings’ show #climatecrisis is supercharging Europe’s wildfire weather - Latest study says global heating has made hot, dry and windy conditions in Spain at least 20 times more likely @wwattribution.bsky.social Story by me www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
‘Extremely scary findings’ show climate crisis is supercharging Europe’s wildfire weather
Latest study says global heating has made hot, dry and windy conditions in Spain at least 20 times more likely
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Reposted by Martin Hodson
Anthropology.net @anthropology.net · 22/07/2026
A cave in GunaiKurnai Country holds 25,000 years of burnt grass, laid down layer by layer, plus a standing stone erected 2,000 years ago. New phytolith evidence backs up what oral tradition always said. #Archaeology #IndigenousKnowledge #Archaeobotany www.anthropology.net/p/grasses-of...
anthropology.net
Grasses of Grief and Ghosts: What 25,000 Years of Ash Tell Us About Ritual at Cloggs Cave
A Australian cave site shows people burning grass, deliberately and repeatedly, for longer than agriculture has existed anywhere on Earth
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Reposted by Martin Hodson
Leo Hickman @leohickman.carbonbrief.org · 30/07/2026
The Daily Telegraph has raced through all five stages of climate denial this week. But this is, perhaps, the most ridiculous column so far: "Without minimising the severe downsides…especially on some poorer nations, many in Britain would enjoy the kind of warmer climate predicted by modellers..."
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Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
So, I finally did a TED talk, and it got released today. I seem to have been quite intense, but I'm grateful they left in my Trump joke. www.ted.com/talks/bill_m...
ted.com
Our last, best chance to cool the Earth
We're living through oil wars, wildfire smoke and extreme weather driven by a warming planet. But environmentalist Bill McKibben says one thing is finally going right: the price of clean energy has pl...
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Reposted by Martin Hodson
Alaina Wood @thegarbagequeen.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Friendly reminder that these things aren't impacted by closing the Strait of Hormuz so maybe, just maybe, we should implement them to avoid being impacted by future conflicts: -Solar panels -Wind turbines -Battery storage -Electric vehicles -Bicycles -Natural fertilizers -Electric heat pumps
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Leo Hickman @leohickman.carbonbrief.org · 27/07/2026
++BREAKING++ The Daily Telegraph has... *rubs eyes* ...published something sensible about climate change: "I’m coming to the view that the Online Right is going wrong, eschewing compassion or charm, talking itself into corners of angry irrelevance. Take climate change."
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This looks like a promising development. BBC News - Going with the flow: Renewable energy battery breakthrough www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Renewable energy: QUB flow battery breakthrough
A 3D-printed battery designed at Queen's University Belfast could speed up energy storage research.
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Reposted by Martin Hodson
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
“So next time someone tells you Canada’s fires can be solved by raking the forests, you can point out that the thing filling their sky with smoke is a lightning-struck, drought-primed boreal forest doing what a warming climate is making it do more and more often.”
theclimatebrink.com
Canada's boreal wildfires aren't just bad forest management
Higher fire season temperatures are strongly correlated with increased area burned
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Ember @ember-energy.org · 19/07/2026
🚨 Europe’s reliance on fossil fuels and exposure to their volatile prices is costly In the 100 days since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, the EU had to pay an additional 37 billion euros due to the fossil fuel price shock Enter electrification 👇 🧵1/3
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National Emergency Briefing @nebriefing.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Have you been to a screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing yet? Find one near you: www.nebriefing.org/screening-map Or maybe consider hosting one in your community or workplace with our guidance: www.nebriefing.org/host-the-film #NationalEmergencyBriefing #PEBuk #climatecrisis
nebriefing.org
National Emergency Briefing
Find a People's Emergency Briefing screening near you, or spot a gap that you can fill by hosting a screening.
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
In the Church Times today! I helped put this document together. Hope it encourages individuals and churches to take action. www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...
churchtimes.co.uk
Tackling climate change integral to Christian discipleship, Bishops’ teaching document says
Environment essential to following Jesus, Archbishops of Canterbury and York say
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SM @jami85in.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Why Does California's Pygmy Forest Stay So Impossibly Tiny? Pygmy Forest trees are 100-150 years old yet only reach 6-8 feet tall, 40 times smaller than normal conifers Hardpan soil layer blocks water and nutrient up... #BotanicalMysteries #CaliforniaNaturalWonders #PlantBiology #Nature #Science
mazingamazingly.blogspot.com
Why Does California's Pygmy Forest Stay So Impossibly Tiny?
Pygmy Forest trees are 100-150 years old yet only reach 6-8 feet tall, 40 times smaller than normal conifers Hardpan soil layer blocks water and nutrient uptake, creating the extreme dwarfing effect T
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Hope for All Creation is a theological response to the environmental crises from the @churchofengland.org I was pleased to be involved in writing this document (particularly the science sections) which can be downloaded for free here: www.churchofengland.org/sites/defaul...
Hope for All Creation
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
It feels deeply ironic to be posting about climate scepticism when today is likely to break the temperature record Again.
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Absolutely correct!
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Reposted by Martin Hodson
Dr Charlie Gardner @charliejgardner.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Reform UK councillors have introduced a motion to rescind King's Lynn and West Norfolk's climate emergency declaration and deprioritise decarbonisation efforts The council were going to vote on it on Thursday But the meeting has been postponed due to extreme heat
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
This talk by Benjamin Moller is the first time I have seen anything on carbon sequestration in #phytoliths not in a phytolith or plant silica meeting. It relates this to enhanced weathering. I have been thinking this way for a while, but this guy has done it!! Excellent! youtu.be/1DAwuJSLQ5Y?...
youtu.be
CDI Symposium 2026: Phytolith-occluded organic carbon, Benjamin Möller
YouTube video by Dirk Paessler
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Climate Outreach @climateoutreach.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
🎉 Incredible milestone for clean energy in the UK: over £100 billion has been invested since our government came into office, increasing our energy security and generating more green jobs and growth than ever. 👉 Find out more via @theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
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Lyn Kidson @lynmkidson.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Calling all who are working in Biblical Studies, Theology, Ancient Languages (Greek & Hebrew), Early Christianity, Church history, Ecclesiology and are from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacifica Region. Please comment if you'd like to be added. go.bsky.app/EgfsUDM
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Jeff Berardelli @weatherprof.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Im still in disbelief. Each new model that comes out - somehow - raises the expectation of a record breaking El Niño incoming. If for nothing other than my own clarity, I need to plot it - just to see how 2026 stacks up “IF” the models are right. And as you can see… holy cow! 1/
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
After 22 years at the helm of CRES as Principal Tutor, I have announced that I wish to step down in September 2027. This will allow time for a good handover. We have split my role in two (PT and Conference Organiser) to make it more manageable. We are alos looking for a paid partime administrator.
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
This is definitely a scary paper. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
We Are in the Anthropocene—Now What?
The Anthropocene's enormous consequences are of long-term nature, the slow pace of recovery currently under-appreciated among the public The smallest unavoidable residual emissions (e.g., from fo...
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
A good, clear explanation of the coming El Niño. If it is as bad as some predictions, it is likely to be pretty horrendous. www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...
bbc.co.uk
Prepare for El Niño, UN warns - it could be the strongest in decades - BBC News
Scientists fear the combined effects of El Niño and human-caused climate change could reshape weather around the world
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Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 01/06/2026
Another big El Nino update: CanSIPS (the Canadian modeling group) updated their April 30th run to a new May 31st one, with a big impact (+0.9C) on the cooler CanESM5 model. That model, along with Germany's DWD, had been the only ones perviously forecasting a relatively weak event.
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
I like this article partly because of the subject matter- a rare orchid discovered on a University building roof. And partly because of the discoverer, Andrew Lack, whom I have known since I was a postgrad in Swansea in 1979! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Rare orchid discovered on roof of Oxford Brookes building
The White Helleborine orchid was found on top of a building belonging to Oxford Brookes University.
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
I had a small part in this rather wonderfully pretty paper by @felix-detombeur.bsky.social et al. And you should see the videos! #phytoliths #siliceousplants #silica #sedges
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Annals of Botany @annbot.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
✅📄Now Free Access: Exploring silica accumulation in bamboo leaves: a study on phytolith morphology and epidermal patterning in the tropical giant bamboo Dendrocalamus copelandii Get the Paper: doi.org/10.1093/aob/... #PlantScience
doi.org
Exploring silica accumulation in bamboo leaves: a study on phytolith morphology and epidermal patterning in the tropical giant bamboo Dendrocalamus copelandii
AbstractBackground and Aims. Bamboo is a grass in the Poaceae family with various applications. Bamboo leaves can accumulate high silica. However, silica d
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
This begins depressingly like the first chapter of "The Ministry for the Future". But like that book it does then go on to what we can do to avoid the worst scenarios. We need to take adaptation seriously NOW!!!
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MetJam @metjam.co.uk · 25/05/2026
The most anomalous maximum temperature recording regarding stations and their records seems to be 33.3ºC at Wellesbourne. This beats the old May record for the station by 6.1ºC before this spell (27.2ºC, 2010) as well as the June record by 2.2ºC (31.2ºC, 1976), extraordinary.
Spaghetti plot for Wellesbourne from 1959 to 2026 with all daily temperatures on record shown with 2026's observed maximum temperatures shown with the spike of 33.3ºC at Wellesbourne noted
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Regent's Park College @regentsox.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Congratulations to Dr Tim Middleton, Tutorial Fellow in Theology at Regent’s, who is part of the team behind The Elisha Project, a new national initiative supported by the @eclasproject.bsky.social programme at Durham University.
rpc.ox.ac.uk
Dr Tim Middleton and Colleagues Awarded Funding for The Elisha Project |
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
It is really good to see TCEN here on Bluesky. And it is absolutely brilliant that we now have funding to build a vital network of early career theologians, scientists and pastors/vicars who will be able to take this work into the future. #theosky
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Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Every year now, the pre-monsoon heat (the hottest time of year in South Asia with temperatures well over 40°C) starts earlier & lasts longer - due to human-induced climate change - exposing 1billion people to deadly heat. @wwattribution.bsky.social www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-chan...
two maps and two timeseries showing the extreme heat conditions in South Asia in April 2026.
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Operation Noah @operationnoah.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Congratulations to our friends at St Lawrence’s Church in Hungerford whose impressive tree planting has been shortlisted for the Best Community Climate & Nature Action Sheila McKechnie Award. smk.org.uk/awards_nomin... . Check out our video about their work: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4gz...
smk.org.uk
Tree Planting at St. Lawrence's Church Hungerford < Sheila McKechnie Foundation
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
We are very grateful to @eclasproject.bsky.social for funding the Elisha Project of the Theological Colleges Environment Network jri.org.uk/tcen/ More details to follow!
jri.org.uk
Theological Colleges Environment Network (TCEN): The Elisha Project
The Elisha Project wins major Science for Seminaries grant The Theological Colleges Environment Network (TCEN) is delighted to announce that the Science for Seminaries* programme has awarded them a...
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Martin Hodson @martinjhodson.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
This is not good news. The museum is doing a good job of being home to the swifts, but the other bits of their life cycle are a major problem. Migration over hostile territory etc..... BBC News - Oxford museum sees 47% decline in swift numbers www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Oxford Natural History museum sees 47% decline in swift numbers
For 80 years swifts have returned to the tower of Oxford Museum of Natural History.
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Kees van der Leun @sustainable2050.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Warmest 3 months of April on record, globally: 1. April 2024 2. April 2025 3. April 2026, 1.43°C above the estimated pre-industrial level (together with 2016 and 2020) climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-...
Bar graph showing anomalies vs pre-industrial growing from around 0.5C in the 1980s to almost 1.5C now.
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