Earth is 'experiencing a global warming spurt'

Climate Central: Scientists say cyclical changes in the Pacific Ocean have thrown Earth's surface into what may be an unprecedented warming spurt, following a global warming slowdown that lasted about 15 years

While El Nino is being blamed for an outbreak of floods, storms and unseasonable temperatures across the planet, a much slower-moving cycle of the Pacific Ocean has also been playing a role in record-breaking warmth. The recent effects of both ocean cycles are being amplified by climate change.

A 2014 flip was detected in the sluggish and elusive ocean cycle known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, or PDO, which also goes by other names, including the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation. Despite uncertainty about the fundamental nature of the PDO, leading scientists link its 2014 phase change to a rapid rise in global surface temperatures.