Climate change models might have been wrong. The Earth could be warming even faster than we thought.

Norway.
(Image credit: Oliver Morin/AFP/Getty Images)

Computer models used to predict climate change could have a major flaw in how they determine the ability of clouds to cool the planet, a new paper published in Science suggests — and, if true, the new research means that making progress against rising temperatures is going to be even more difficult than was long expected.

The new paper looked at "mixed-phase" clouds, which are made up of both cooled water and ice crystals, The New York Times reports. Using data from a satellite monitoring the particles in the atmosphere, mixed-phase clouds appear to scientists to have more water and less ice than was first expected. Because water reflects solar radiation back into the sky, watery clouds help slow warming. But with less ice to begin with, there is naturally less of an ability for water to replace the ice, according to the scientists behind the new research. As a result, more warming occurs than was at first predicted.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.