More expert readers would know that temperature trends due to a changing global climate are smooth over much larger distances than the blobs on these maps—you know it, too: remember Hansen and Lebedeff’s 1,200 km? So how could New York City have warmed so much more rapidly than a region in central New York State 250 km (150 miles) away? Buried deep within the article one finds: Urban heat effects, changing air pollution levels, ocean currents, events like the Dust Bowl, and natural climate wobbles such as El Niño could all be playing some role, experts say.
