Feeling whipsawed yet? Don’t. This kind of disagreement among scientists happens every day, and when the subject is less politicized it can be fascinating to watch. This is how scientific inquiry moves forward: Putting hypotheses out there and testing them. Most days, it makes a lot more sense than politics does.

In any case, whether or not there was a pause in warming for a dozen years or so has no bearing on the underlying scientific validity of climate change. Even the lead author of the February paper that argued the pause is real says that the findings do not undermine global warming theory. Besides, record global temperatures for 2014 and 2015 suggest that warming has resumed. But even more important, the long-term trend is clear: Climate change is about the long haul, not short-term variability.