Is the recent global warming a “termination shock”?

You might know the term “Termination shock” from science fiction, but recently it has appeared in real world headlines. It refers to a jump in global temperatures that occurs when small particles (aerosols) are removed from the Earth’s atmosphere. In science fiction, this happens when we stop geoengineering efforts, but we’re experiencing this in the real world now because we’ve been cleaning up air pollution. Climate scientists argue over how large the effect is. Let’s take a look.