As scorching temperatures have smashed records across the world this year, I have been talking to climate scientists about a question I hear a lot.Do these heat extremes mean we are nearing critical tipping points that, once crossed, will push the Earth’s climate into irreversible, uncharted territory and runaway warming?
None of the researchers I spoke to expected the record heat to directly trigger dramatic shifts in the global climate system.
Some thought the extremes might be a sign that parts of the system were losing stability. It could be “an early warning signal” of more persistent, abrupt shifts, said the University of Exeter’s Tim Lenton, a leading tipping point expert.
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