Is the Earth warming faster than we expected?
BBC Inside Science
BBC
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 12 March 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week new research suggests that in recent years the Earth has been warming faster than we predicted. But scientists are undecided on whether this change is going to be permanent. Laura Wilcox, Professor of Aerosol-Climate Interactions at the University of Reading explains.
Tom Whipple is joined by Kit Yates, Author and Professor of Mathematical Biology and Public Engagement at the University of Bath. They mark the ten year anniversary of a game of ‘Go’ in which a computer programme called AlphaGo beat human Go champion Lee Sodol. Computer scientist at Google DeepMind Thore Graepel was witness to the game and talks about why the event has become a crucial moment in the story of AI.
Kit also brings Tom his pick of the science news.
To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk, search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.
Presenter: Tom Whipple Producers: Clare Salisbury and Alex Mansfield Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | An early start here. It's time to kick off. |
| 0:10.0 | Your day. Morning! |
| 0:11.9 | What a line-up. |
| 0:13.3 | Oh, thanks very much. We do get some great guests on the show. |
| 0:16.1 | The crowd is loving this. |
| 0:18.3 | Thanks, guys. Thank you. Too kind. |
| 0:20.2 | From morning chaos to match day commentary. |
| 0:23.6 | And everything in between. |
| 0:25.0 | BBC sounds packed with personality. |
| 0:29.0 | Hello, I'm Tom Whipple and welcome to Inside Science from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:35.2 | What can a few hotter years than expected really tell us about climate change? |
| 0:40.6 | What can one single move in a board game 10 years ago tell us about artificial intelligence? |
| 0:47.0 | And what can the latest genetic sleuthing find out about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic? |
| 1:01.0 | To consider some of these questions and others, I'm joined by a human intelligence, Kitt Yates. Well, before that, 2025 was really hot, |
| 1:06.0 | 2024 was really hot, so too was 2023. |
| 1:10.0 | The hotness |
| 1:10.9 | of recent years might not be too much of a |
| 1:13.7 | surprise. But were they more |
| 1:16.6 | really hot than they really should have been? |
| 1:19.5 | Amid all the important and depressing news out there at the moment, |
| 1:22.8 | it's understandable you might have missed this particular bit |
... |
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