World ‘breaching’ five climate tipping points

Dubai, December 6

The world is in danger of surpassing the five vital limits crucial for life on Earth due to current warming levels, a team of 200 scientists warned in a critical report released at the UN climate conference here on Wednesday. Released at the International Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai, the “Global Tipping Points” report is the most thorough assessment ever done on the boundaries of natural systems, according to the scientists.

It identifies 26 tipping points, with five critical ones, like the cryosphere, already at risk due to current levels of global warming.

According to the report, the five major tipping points are the Greenland and West Antarctic Ice Sheets, the North Atlantic subpolar Gyre Circulation, warm-water coral reefs and some permafrost regions. “These tipping points pose threats of a magnitude that has never been faced before by humanity,” said Prof. Tim Lenon, lead author and chair of Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter, UK. The report also highlights potential tipping points in social progress, such as the growth of renewable energy.