Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Earth approaching climate tipping points

15:00
11 September 2022

Global warming
Earth approaching climate tipping points

Juxtaposed weather conditions

The planet is at risk of crossing six climate tipping points according to new analysis.

A climate tipping point is described by the United Nations as a critical threshold at which a system reorganises, often abruptly, and/or irreversibly on a human timescale.

Now, research led by Stockholm University and the University of Exeter suggests that exceeding 1.5C in global temperature rising is likely to trigger multiple tipping points.

The researchers analysed data published since 2008 and over 200 studies to determine these six tipping points.

Once a point is met, there is a self-sustaining breakdown of the feature which cannot be halted even if global warming is slowed or halted.

The six tipping points
Collapse of the Greenland Ice SheetCoral reef die off in low latitudes
Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice SheetThawing of permafrost in northern regions
Collapse of ocean circulation in the North Atlantic's polar regionRapid sea ice loss in the Barents Sea

Last year Climate Action Tracker says that even the most optimistic climate scenario would see global warming of 1.8C compared to the pre-industrial era.

Unfortunately many of these tipping points are interlinked. For example if an ice sheet collapses there is less snow and ice to reflect sunlight away from the ground resulting in faster warmings and further melting.

Other tipping points include dieback of the Amazon rainforest, a shift in the West African monsoon, and greening of the Sahara Desert.

Ryan Hathaway
More on the topic
How El Niño impacts us worldwide. What actually is it?. . . Tuesday, 15 September 2026
teaser
Tuesday, 15 September 2026

What actually is it?

How El Niño impacts us worldwide
A snowy winter in the Andes. Avalanches and storms. . . Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Tuesday, 15 September 2026

Avalanches and storms

A snowy winter in the Andes
Record ocean heat halting hurricanes. Strong El Niño influence. . . Friday, 11 September 2026
A weather map shows a calm Atlantic Ocean with no hurricanes, alongside a picture of the sea.
Friday, 11 September 2026

Strong El Niño influence

Record ocean heat halting hurricanes
All weather news
This might also interest you
Historic Storm Éowyn arrives. On this day.... . . Saturday, 24 January 2026
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday, 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
A stormy week in the skies above. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 30 August 2026
Split image showing lightning branching beneath dark storm clouds above rooftops on the left and an orange-pink sunset over a calm sea on the right.
Sunday, 30 August 2026

Your weather - Your shots

A stormy week in the skies above
Seasonal warmth between spring thunder. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 19 April 2026
Split image showing coastal sunset with layered lenticular clouds over rooftops and palm trees on the left, and a green valley with river and hills under soft daylight on the right.
Sunday, 19 April 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Seasonal warmth between spring thunder
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList