The concept of climate tipping points – when changes in an earth system become self-perpetuating and often irreversible – has been around for decades. Studies have shown how climate change driven events from tree loss in the Amazon to bleaching of coral reefs and melting glaciers create feedback loops that cause further dieback. Now, a new study published in Science warns that the world may have already crossed five of these dangerous thresholds with the 1.1 degrees Celsius (33.98 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming that has already occurred. This has been documented the four tipping points, which include the beginning of the collapse of the Greenland and West Antarctic Ice Sheets, tropical coral reef die off, and the abrupt thawing of Northern permafrost. “Back then, we thought it was 2 degrees of global warming that would push us into the danger zone,” said Tim Lenton, a professor of climate change at University of Exeter and one of the new paper’s co-authors. “But actually, we have already left the space of climate safety.” Currently, the world is on track to warm about 2.6 to 3 degrees C based on current policies. Even if all current net-zero and emission reduction goals are met, warming would be kept to just below 2 degrees C, which would likely cross six tipping points, according to the study. Click the link in our bio to read more.