An Australian-led research team claims to have solved one of the biggest puzzles in climate science – why air temperatures have largely plateaued since 2001 even as greenhouse gas levels have continued to climb.

While most scientists have long accepted that the Earth continues to trap extra heat with the bulk of it ending up in the oceans, they have been uncertain about the precise process slowing the rise in atmospheric temperatures and whether it will persist.

Last year was Australia's hottest. Credit:Anthony Johnson

The answer, says Matthew England from the University of NSW, is an unprecedented strengthening of east-west trade winds over the equatorial Pacific since the 1990s.

The winds, as much as twice their normal strength, are altering circulation patterns and driving huge amounts of heat into the western Pacific while cooling eastern regions, Professor England and fellow researchers found.