Several regions that are crucial for the climate could soon be destroyed forever, warns a new report. But it also shows that momentum in the right direction can tip the world towards a better future.
The authors are particularly concerned about tropical coral reefs. The oceans have already warmed so much that humanity will probably only be able to save them with enormous effort – if at all. Even if warming can be stabilised at 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, it is very likely that the reefs will die because their comfortable temperature ends at an additional 1.5 degrees Celsius. This would have catastrophic consequences for marine biodiversity, the food security of hundreds of millions of people and coastal protection, as healthy reefs act as natural breakwaters.
Among other things, the report also shows that
• even with the current warming of 1.4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the large ice sheets at the poles could melt to such an extent that sea levels would rise significantly.
• Permafrost – permanently frozen ground – is also increasingly disappearing, releasing climate-damaging gases in the process.
• The Amazon rainforest could be severely damaged even with less warming than previously thought. New estimates show that large parts of the forest could die off with a temperature rise of just 1.5 degrees. More than a hundred million people depend on it for their livelihoods.
• The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which includes the Gulf Stream, is already at risk of collapsing even with global warming below 2 degrees. This would disrupt the monsoons that characterise the rainy seasons in West Africa and South Asia. Harvests would shrink, with consequences for food security worldwide.
• Researchers still see no acute tipping point risk for the jet stream, large-scale tropical atmospheric currents and ENSO. ENSO stands for El Niño-Southern Oscillation, a natural climate and ocean phenomenon in the tropical Pacific. It influences the weather in large parts of the world.
Global Tipping Points Report 2025
