No one is saying that cyclical changes have had zero effect on the temperature. What they're looking at is forcing, temperature changes outside of the range within a certain period. Cyclical temperature changes are not responsible for the rapidity of mean ocean temperature rises and other symptoms of climate change like the rapidly melting arctic ice sheet. Cyclical temperature is responsible for the temperature changes that FOL will most likely go on about. Such as the temperature decline over the past 5 years etc.
Thing is large basins of heat do not respond easily to these pithy 5 year average changes. The ocean is still expanding thanks to thermal energy increases.
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