GoKawiilSkeptical Science releases widget comparing global warming rate to atomic bomb blasts
Skeptical Science contributors published a peer-reviewed study combining data on ocean, land, air and ice warming, calculating that Earth is accumulating heat at roughly 250 trillion joules per second. To make that figure understandable, the group built a widget—available for blogs, Facebook, iPad and iPhone—that expresses this rate as equivalent to about four Hiroshima-sized atomic bomb detonations every second.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Framing abstract energy units like joules as bomb blasts, hurricanes or earthquakes could make the scale of ongoing warming more tangible to non-scientists, potentially aiding public understanding of climate change. Because most of this heat is absorbed by oceans rather than air, the comparison also underscores that surface temperature alone understates the total energy imbalance the researchers say is occurring.
- Skeptical Science researchers estimate Earth is gaining heat at about 250 trillion joules per second.
- This rate is described as equal to roughly four Hiroshima atomic bomb detonations every second.
- About 90% of this accumulated heat is estimated to be absorbed by the oceans rather than land or air.
Source: 4hiroshimas.info, 2026-09-29
Published there as: “Climate is accumulating 4 Hiroshima atomic bombs worth of heat per second”
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