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near the earth Reached its first climate change tipping pointindicating a bleak new reality for a planet that scientists believed was still a long way off.
In a devastating new report released on Monday, 160 international researchers warned that as a result boiling temperature of the seaWarm-water coral reefs like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have passed a point of no return – and most of them are now expected to decline.
Led by the latest Global Tipping Points report University of Exeter and released before this year cop30 climate summit in brazilSays coral ecosystems – on which nearly a billion people depend for food and livelihoods – are now headed for irreversible decline. This means that Earth has entered a “new reality”.
Nearly a billion people and a quarter of all marine life depend on them AnimalWhich are part of some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems and protect coastlines from major storms.
They are also a colorful attraction for snorkelers and divers. but the rocks are already there experienced unprecedented stress And while many may be lost forever global warming Dr Mike Barrett, author of the report and chief scientific advisor to WWF UK, said this is counterproductive. release,
“This grave situation should be a warning that if we do not act decisively now, we too will lose Amazon Rainforests, ice sheets and important ocean currents,” he explained. “In that scenario, we would be looking at truly devastating consequences for all of humanity.”
Barrett said Earth is close to the second tipping points That could be reached in the coming years – and could be devastating to Earth’s climate.
Tipping points are critical thresholds identified by climatologists that, when passed, are expected to have irreversible and dangerous effects on the planet’s climate with devastating implications for humanity.
They include the melting of Arctic permafrost, a slowdown in critical ocean circulation in the Atlantic, the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, the loss of the Amazon rainforest and boreal forests, and changes in the West African and Indian monsoons.
More than 100 million people depend on South America Amazon is already devastated for food and water, and it is home to thousands of animal and plant species.
However, the report’s authors found that forests could deteriorate if temperatures rise by 1.5C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels – Lower estimates than before.
Collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation – a system of deep ocean currents that acts as Earth’s central heating system – is at risk even below 2C of global warming, he said.
The latest potential collapse is projected to result in extremely harsh winters in Western Europe, akin to a mini-ice age and a serious threat to global food security.
Key points were seen to occur in the prior time frame for these events many more degrees of warming Near the end of the century.
“Twenty years ago it was thought that global temperatures would rise by four to five degrees, so that tipping points would be less likely,” said co-author, Professor Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter. Independent“We now think that this is the case in the one to two degree range of global warming.”
The planet has already warmed 1.2C (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the Industrial Revolution, and an October 2024 UN report says the world is on track to do so. 3.1C (5.6 degrees Fahrenheit) global warming by 2100,
every fraction of a degree Global warming is likely to worsen the consequences of the climate crisis.
Nevertheless, Lenton says he believes Earth “can still avoid the worst” by taking comprehensive mitigating action.
Lenton, Barrett and their colleagues urge countries to trigger a “positive tipping point” to counter these impacts, such as by ramping up new technology, transitioning to clean energy like wind and solar, and drastically reducing pollution. greenhouse gas emissions,
Next month, world leaders – possibly except the US – are due to meet in Brazil to address the annual UN conference Climate change,
Although Some effects may now be inevitableThe report’s authors said they hoped countries attending the conference would show the “political bravery” needed to reach solutions to these crises and prevent catastrophe.
The researchers said current policies are not adequate to respond to the scale of these dangerous consequences and often do not take into account critical factors.
Last year, rich countries agreed to collect at least $300 billion a year by 2035 — far less than that. Developing countries had said that $1.3 trillion was needed. To address climate impacts on the front lines.
“Only through a combination of decisive policy and civil society action can the world move from facing existential Earth system risks to seizing positive significant opportunities,” he said in a statement.