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Some parts of the globe are not just heating up, but heating up faster than they were just a few decades ago. A new analysis reveals where warming has gained pace.

It found that, starting in the 1980s, warming began to accelerate in a few regions, first in the eastern Mediterranean and North Pacific, and later in New Zealand, southeast China, Bolivia, and the Gulf of Mexico.

In some places, scientists speculate that efforts to slash pollution have caused warming to speed up. Sulfur dioxide, produced chiefly by coal power plants, blocks sunlight, with a cooling effect. In China, for instance, efforts to slash coal plant pollution have produced both clearer skies and a recent surge in warming, scientists believe. In other regions, it is unclear why warming has recently sped up.

In colored regions, warming has sped up. Darker colors indicate greater acceleration.…