In the journal Science, a team led by the Alfred Wegener Institute put forward a possible explanation in their study for the rise in global mean temperature: our planet has become less reflective because certain types of clouds have declined.

Researchers find that part of the temperature rise in 2023 is due to a decline in low altitude clouds in the northern mid-latitudes and the tropics.  In particular temperature rises in the eastern side of the North Atlantic seem likely due to a reduction in clouds like marine Stratocumulus.

You can read an article about the study here

Image: Are marine Stratocumulus clouds, like these spotted by Russell Myles over the Isle of Skye, Scotland,  becoming less frequent?  And could this help explain temperature increases in 2023.