Comment: Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against (Nature)

Comment: Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against

This Comment in Nature by Lenton et al. (leaders in climate study and policy) is making headlines, as it points to the serious implications of continuing climate change. It’s worth looking at the article itself, not just the digested version. The authors’ key message is that all the different places we’re seeing evidence for climate change are linked, and that these linkages are leading to faster adverse consequences than previously expected, as revealed by new data and models. As an example, melting Artic and Greenland ice causes freshwater influx into the North Atlantic (specifically, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: AMOC) , changing rainfall patterns in Europe and Africa, as well as affecting the Amazon, East Asia, the Southern Ocean, and ultimately accelerating Antarctic ice loss. They also define an equation to calculate the magnitude of the emergency we are facing: E = R × U = p × D × τ / T, which is an interesting way to quantify how great the emergency we face is. (Summary by Mary Williams) Nature 10.1038/d41586-019-03595-0