Researchers have made a very pessimistic prediction about the future of our planet and life on it.
November 2023 will be the hottest month in history; in fact, the planet broke temperature records for the fifth month in a row. Moreover, Science Alert writes that scientists agree that 2023 will be the hottest year in human history and possibly the hottest year in the last 125,000 years.
As a result, numerous temperature records were broken last year and, like many other indicators of rapid climate change, sea ice loss has accelerated at an alarming rate. As a result, scientists fear this year could be a time when parts of Earth’s climate pattern could enter a dangerous state.
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If the system is under stress, it can be assumed that it will react in a fairly predictable manner and double the pressure. And this works in many cases, but not always. Sometimes a system under stress changes regularly and linearly up to a certain point, after which some kind of collapse occurs – large and sudden changes. Scientists call these tipping points and warn that Earth’s climate system has many potential tipping points:
- loss of ice sheets;
- disappearance of tropical forests and others.
Research has already shown that if we lose these systems, it will unfortunately be extremely difficult to restore them once the tipping point has passed. As a result, nearly 200 scientists from around the world have published a new report highlighting all the turning points the planet faces today.
In their report, scientists talked about “negative” turning points in Earth systems that could harm nature and all life on Earth, including humans. In the study, scientists examined evidence of past and present changes and also considered predictions from computer models. As a result, they were able to identify more than 25 turning points looming over Earth’s future.
Research shows that 6 out of 25 tipping points occur in icy parts of our planet. We’re talking about melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, local glacier loss, and thawing permafrost.
16 turning points occur in the “biosphere”, among them:
- mass tree death in the Amazon;
- degradation of savannahs;
- drought;
- overloading of lakes with nutrients;
- mass extinction of coral reefs;
- mangrove loss;
- extinction of seagrasses.
Scientists also identified 4 turning points in the circulation of the oceans and atmosphere:
- collapse of deep ocean mixing in the North Atlantic and Southern Ocean around Antarctica;
- Disruption of the West African monsoon.
The researchers said they also found that human activity is unfortunately pushing some inexorably closer to a tipping point. At the same time, scientists do not yet know the exact threshold values, but if this happens, the consequences will be catastrophic for the planet and life on it.
Equally frightening are the changes in human society that lead to financial instability, population displacement, conflict and polarization. The authors of the study fear that all this will ultimately have a negative impact on people’s ability to prevent the onset of turning points on Earth.
Previously Focus He wrote that 20 of 35 livability indicators were borderline.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.