A new study out last week is pointing out that the climatic deterioration we are seeing may not move in a linear fashion, but in a series of lurches as various “tipping points” are passes. Worse still, these tipping points can form a cascade, with each one triggering others, creating an irreversible shift to a hotter world. The study suggests that changes to ocean circulation could be the driver of such a cascade.
11 years ago, the thought was that things for the earth would really get bad once the temperature would hit 5 degree C above preindustrial levels. Last week, the study found that the risks are now much more likely and much more imminent. Some tipping points, they said, may already have been breached at the current 1 degree C of warming. Making matters worse is a new report indicating that greenhouse gas emissions have hit a record high , with 40.6 billion tons (36.8 billion metric tons) of CO2 pumped into the air in 2019. That is a 0.6% increase from 2018.
So what are the tipping points?
- Arctic Sea ice
- Greenland ice sheet
- Boreal forests
- Permafrost
- Atlantic Meridional Over turning circulation
- Amazon Rainforest
- Warm-water corals
- West Antarctic ice sheet
- Parts of East Antarctica