According to the analysis, at 1.5°C of warming – the minimum increase forecast today – four of the five tipping points move from possible to probable status. Still at 1.5°C, five other tipping points become possible, including the modification of vast northern forests and the disappearance of almost all mountain glaciers.
In all, the researchers found evidence of 16 tipping points, the last six requiring global warming of at least 2°C to be triggered, according to the scientists’ estimates. The tipping points would take effect on timescales ranging from a few years to several centuries.
