The earth has reached its first climate tipping pointsignaling a grim new reality for the planet and bringing closer a grim future that scientists once thought was still far off.
In a new report published on Monday, 160 international researchers warned that… ocean boiling pointWarm-water coral reefs such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef have passed the point of no return – and most are now expected to decline.
Latest Global Tipping Points Report by University of Exeter and released ahead of next year KS30 Climate summit in Brazilsays coral ecosystems, on which about a billion people depend for food and livelihoods, are now in irreversible decline. This means that the Earth has entered a “new reality.”
About a billion people and a quarter of all marine life depend on them. animalswhich represent some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world and protect coastlines from severe storms. They are also colorful attractions for snorkelers and divers. But the pitfalls are already experienced unprecedented stress and many could be lost forever if global warming is not reversed, said report author Dr Mike Barrett, chief scientific adviser to the UK's World Wide Fund for Nature. release.
“This grim situation should be a wake-up call that if we don't act decisively now, we will also lose the Amazon rainforest, ice sheets and vital ocean currents,” he explained. “In this scenario, we face a truly catastrophic outcome for all of humanity.”
The Earth has just passed its first climate tipping point, 160 scientists from around the world warned on Sunday. Some of the world's largest reefs are expected to decline in the coming years. Coral reefs are critical ecosystems that support thousands of species. Without our help, commonly known animals with stunning colors could be lost forever (Getty Images)
Barrett said the Earth is approaching another turning points this could be achieved in the coming years – and would have devastating consequences for the Earth's climate.
Tipping points are critical thresholds, defined by climate scientists, which, once crossed, are expected to lead to irreversible and dangerous impacts on the planet's climate with catastrophic consequences for humanity. These include thawing permafrost in the Arctic, a slowdown in critical ocean circulation in the Atlantic, the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, the disappearance of the Amazon rainforest and the transition to boreal forests, and the West African and Indian monsoons.
More than 100 million people rely on South American the already devastated Amazon for food and water, and it is home to thousands of species of animals and plants.
However, the report's authors found that forest health could worsen with warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). above pre-industrial levels – lower estimate than previously expected.
Collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation They say the deep ocean current system, which acts as the Earth's central heating system, is under threat from global warming even at temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius.
The latest potential collapse is predicted to lead to extremely harsh winters in Western Europe, reminiscent of a minor ice age, and pose a serious threat to global food security.
The previous timing of these events showed the turning points occurring with a few more degrees of warming towards the end of the century.
“Twenty years ago it was thought that it would take four to five degrees of global warming for a tipping point to be as likely to occur,” said co-author Professor Tim Lenton at the University of Exeter. Independent“We now think that this is the case in the global warming range of one to two degrees.”
The Amazon rainforest has been devastated by deforestation for decades. Now the Earth will pay for it sooner than expected, researchers warn (AFP via Getty Images)
The planet has already warmed 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the Industrial Revolution, and an October 2024 United Nations report says the world is on track to Global warming of 3.1 degrees Celsius (5.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100.
Every fraction of a degree Global warming is expected to worsen the effects of climate change.
Despite this, Lenton says he believes Earth “can still avoid the worst” by taking strong mitigation measures.
Lenton, Barrett and their partners called on countries to launch what they called “positive turning points” to counteract these impacts, such as introducing new technologies, switching to clean energy such as wind and solar power, and sharply reducing emissions of polluting greenhouse gases.
Next month, world leaders – with the possible exception of the United States – are set to meet in Brazil for the annual UN climate change conference.
The ice sheets of Greenland and West Antarctica are already losing significant mass. But experts say widespread efforts to mitigate climate change could still prevent deaths (Getty Images)
Although some consequences may now be inevitableThe report's authors hoped that countries participating in the conference would demonstrate the “political courage” needed to address these crises and avert disaster.
Current policies are inadequate to scale these dangerous consequences and often don't even take tipping points into account, the researchers say.
Last year, rich countries agreed to pool at least $300 billion a year by 2035, far less than the 2035 target. Developing countries say $1.3 trillion needed to address climate impacts on the front lines.
“Only through a combination of decisive policy and civil society action can the world change its trajectory from facing the existential risks of an Earth system tipping point to seizing the positive opportunities of a tipping point,” he said in a statement.
