Geophysical Research Letters · 12 August 2026 · From issue 20
In climate models, fixing a rainfall error made simulated Pacific warming look more like the real ocean.
Robert C. J. Wills, Pedro N. DiNezio, Pacific Warming Pattern Discrepancy Linked to Spurious Rainband in Climate Models, Geophysical Research Letters.
Real ocean data show something odd. The eastern Pacific Ocean has cooled while the western Pacific has warmed faster. Climate models do not show this pattern. They instead predict more even warming across the whole ocean. Models that make a smaller error, a fake extra band of storm clouds south of the equator, matched real ocean data better. This suggests human caused climate change may explain more of the odd Pacific pattern than scientists thought.
Models with a smaller storm cloud error better matched real ocean warming patterns.
Model based only, not observed proof, future forecasts may improve.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 13 August 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Geophysical Research Letters). Read the source
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