Tipping Points

A tipping point is a critical threshold beyond which a system does not return to its previous state. Such as a full glass of water which may pass a point of no return and spill its contents – which will not return inside the glass. Tipping points are relevant for climate change on three levels: Firstly, individual elements of the climate system show tipping point behaviour, such as the Indian Monsoon, which may completely disappear, when a certain threshold is passed. Secondly, on a planetary scale, there may be a tipping point of the global climate system, identified at 350 ppm CO2 ppm CO2Parts per million (ppm) is how the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is quantified. While this concentration was…Read on اقرأ المزيد in the atmosphere, beyond which the world will witness irreversible changes and run-away climate change Run-Away Climate ChangeRun-away climate change is already possible under current levels of global warming. However, beyond certain tipping points, namely the 1.5-2°C…Read on اقرأ المزيد , with extreme consequences for humans and climate phenomena. Thirdly, human societies show various ways of tipping behaviors, such as when a critical mass of people is reached, or a new product or business model disrupts a market. This last kind of tipping points gives hope that we may after all be able to end the fossil fuel age in time to stop run-away climate change.