Over the years, scientists have warned about the Earth’s dire climate situation. While world governments struggle to reach a common agreement to achieve net zero emissions, a report issued a ‘Doomsday’ warning about the major climate “tipping points” that could bring disaster worldwide in the next ten years if the planet continues to warm.
Global warming has reached unprecedented levels, according to a report compiled by more than 200 scientists, and it may trigger a “dangerous domino effect” that could potentially wipe out human livelihoods.
According to the report titled ‘Global Tipping Points,’ five important natural thresholds are already at risk of being crossed, and three more may be reached in the 2030s if the world temperature rises 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
“Triggering one tipping point could trigger another in a kind of dangerous domino effect,” says Tim Lenton, the lead author of the report, as per NewScientists outlet.
“But also these tipping points in the Earth system could, in turn, trigger damaging tipping points in societies, things like food security crises, mass displacement and conflicts. Stopping these threats is possible, but it’s going to require urgent global action.”
‘Could result in irreversible changes’
A tipping point is a condition in which a minor deviation in the ecosystem can cause abrupt and irreversible changes due to amplifying feedback processes. The loss of the Greenland ice sheet, the demise of the West Antarctic ice sheet, the die-off of tropical coral reefs, the abrupt thawing of large areas of Arctic permafrost, and the slowing of an ocean current known as the North Atlantic subpolar gyre are the five major tipping points that we are on the verge of crossing.
According to the report, more may soon be added to the list. They are mangroves and seagrass meadows, which are expected to die off in some areas if temperatures rise between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius, and boreal forests, which may tip as early as 1.4 degrees Celsius of heating or as late as 5C. The warning comes as world leaders prepare for the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
The year 2023 will be the hottest on record
Meanwhile, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change report predicts that 2023 will be the hottest year on record, following an “extraordinary” November that set a new record for the sixth month in a row.
“The extraordinary global November temperatures, including two days warmer than 2C above pre-industrial (levels), mean that 2023 is the warmest year in recorded history,” Samantha Burgess, deputy head of the Copernicus service said.
According to scientists, data from ice cores, tree rings, and other sources indicate that this year could be the warmest in more than 100,000 years.
