As climate change accelerates, scientists are taking a hard look at how well climate models have kept pace with the real world. A new study finds that while climate models have successfully captured many global warming trends, like rising temperatures and more intense downpours during extreme storms, they still fall short in key areas. The findings, published in Science Advances, highlight persistent discrepancies between observed data and model projections, especially in regions like the tropical Pacific and Southern Ocean, where models often misrepresent long-term temperature and circulation patterns. These mismatches matter because they affect how accurately we can predict future climate impacts, from shifting storm tracks to intensifying heatwaves.
