Earth's energy imbalance is rising much faster than scientists expected — and now researchers worry they might lose the means to figure out why

Gif showing the outgoing longwave radiation from Earth to space.

Earth's energy imbalance is growing faster than anyone expected — and scientists don't understand why.

To complicate matters several NASA satellites that provide the highest-resolution picture of this imbalance are nearing the end of their lives, and researchers fear their lone replacement isn't sufficient. In the worst case scenario, scientists could lose one of the leading indicators of climate change, as the next-best way of measuring the energy imbalance has a lag of about 10 years.