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[QUOTE=XNN;681486]Natural climate variability on interannual and decadal time scales means that this isn't really incompatible at all.]
But when the temperature data from about 1850 to 1950 fall within the range of the Medieval Warm Period that occurring prior to the Little Ice Age, then the 10 year hiatus in warming is about 1/6 of the total amount of worrysome warming that has occurred from about 1950 to 2010. This is a pretty significant duration, and only additional years will determine if it is a fluke (natural variability) or the beginning of a longer term trend.
Thus, rather than jump to unwarranted conclusions, we should wait at least a few more years before concluding a long term trend in climate change. And of course, it means that skeptics should have priority in publishing well-documented studies in peer review journals in order to thoroughly examine the problem rather than keeping them on the sidelines and then dismissing their arguments because of lack of publications.
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