# A Decade of Cooler Temperatures?

*Published:* 2008-05-02
*Author:* Lisa Moore

![Lisa Moore](https://blogs.edf.org/climate411/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2008/04/lisa_moore.jpg)*This post is by [Lisa Moore, Ph.D.](http://www.environmentaldefense.org/page.cfm?tagID=404), a scientist in the Climate and Air program at Environmental Defense Fund.*

An [article in this week’s *Nature*](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7191/abs/nature06921.html) predicts that Europe and North America will cool slightly over the next decade. No, this doesn’t mean that global warming has stopped.

The new paper describes a climate model that makes short-term (decadal) predictions based on ocean dynamics. The decade-long cooling is just a temporary offset to warming from human activity. After it passes, temperatures will begin climbing again. By 2030, the model forecasts the same global temperatures as the [IPCC](https://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2007/11/19/ipccs-final-words-reduce-emissions/).