It is not that global temperatures have risen faster than expected. The problem is that the effect of this rise has been unexpectedly extreme. “Many of the impacts of climate change such as increased weather extremes are now playing out faster than predicted, even though the warming itself is very much in line with model projections,” said the American climatologist Michael E Mann, of the University of Pennsylvania.

The above phenomenon can easily be understood as the distinction between “sensible” versus “latent” heating which I learned about in high school chemistry and physics classes.

Add heat to a block of ice and the temperature remains at 32 degrees F, as the ice melts. That is “latent” heat transfer.

After most all the ice is melted into water, we add heat and the temperature rises, this is “sensible” heat transfer. The water will continue to become hotter up to the boiling point, where another latent heat process will occur.

Hence, latent heating takes place at constant temperature, as more of the ice on earth is melting, but earth is loosing ice very fast. OMG!