Scientists warn of Mars warming

Global warming has hit Mars, but the planet8217;s shifting winds and swirling dust devils that power climate changes there bear no relation to the heat-trapping gases that now concern the people of planet Earth.

Researchers studying images of the Martian surface taken by generations of orbiting spacecraft have found that the planet8217;s most prominent features have darkened and lightened in recent decades, altering the way sunlight reflects from its sandy soils, its rocky heights and its deep craters.

The result, say the scientists, is that the average global ground temperatures on Mars have risen by more than 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit during the past two decades, while the surface air temperature has risen by a little more than a degree in the same period.