Cascading Tipping Points

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Although according to the IPCC target of 1.5 deg C rise (an average over 5 yrs) has not been crossed yet, the reality is that we are already there.  More and more studies indicate we will cross 2.0 deg C rise by 2035 which will cause catastrophic damage to ecosystems, failure of food systems and dangerous heat along with unsurvivable weather events.  This is no longer an ‘if ‘scenario but rather a ‘when’ one, as millions and perhaps billions will be impacted.  Hopefully, mother nature will step in and gets our attention before we humans create an extinction event that destroys the planet for all of us but I am becoming more pessimistic, sorry to say. SZ

Here is an article from today (7/7/25) which just waves a red flag that things are going the wrong direction:

By Ben Aris in Berlin

Experts warn of “cascading” climate tipping points that will kill the climate without immediate global action© IntelliNews

World leaders must act with “immediate, unprecedented” urgency to prevent cascading climate tipping points that could have catastrophic consequences for billions of people, according to a jointstatement released at the Global Tipping Points Conference held last week at the University of Exeter.

The statement, endorsed by nearly 200 scientists and experts, warns that global warming is on track to exceed 1.5°C within the next few years — a level that would activate irreversible shifts in critical Earth systems. “Already tropical coral reefs have crossed their tipping point and are experiencing unprecedented dieback, impairing the livelihoods of hundreds of millions who depend on them,” the statement said.

‘Humanity faces threats of an unprecedented magnitude from these tipping points,’ warns Tim Lenton, a climate scientist at the University of Exeter, in an earlierreport on the danger of tipping points.

“Tipping points in the Earth system pose threats of a magnitude never faced by humanity,” he said. “They can trigger devastating domino effects, including the loss of whole ecosystems and capacity to grow staple crops, with societal impacts including mass displacement.