04-21-2021
By
Earth.com staff writer
A new study suggests that the catastrophic consequences of climate “tipping points” could still be prevented if global warming is swiftly reversed. The experts report that tipping points will not necessarily be permanent, depending on how quickly we act.
Once a certain threshold of warming is reached, tipping points in the climate system will trigger abrupt changes such as the loss of major ice sheets and large carbon stores like forests.
In previous studies, scientists have warned that a cascading series of climate events could push the Earth into a hothouse state that is characterized by food and water shortages, the displacement of hundreds of millions of people due to sea level rise, and unsuitable living conditions.