Pexels This year will conclude as the second hottest on record, surpassed only by 2024. It continues a recent trend of exceptional, unexplained warming. The last three years have been, by a wide margin, the hottest ever recorded. Together, the last three years averaged more than 1.5 degrees C warmer than preindustrial times, putting the world at least temporarily in breach of an international goal to limit warming below that level, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.  The recent jump in warming, which exceeded the predictions of climate models, has puzzled scientists . Experts have explored a range of potential factors, from a recent volcanic eruption in the South Pacific to a drop in sunlight-blocking pollution . Drawing on recent research into these questions, climate scientist Zeke Hausfather looked at four potential drivers of the warming surge for a recent analysis, published in Carbon Brief.…