Planet resilence

An aeroplane flies over a glacier in the Wrangell St Elias National Park in Alaska. (Frans Lanting/Nat Geo Image Collection)

“The stability and resilience of our planet is in peril.” Evidence is mounting that abrupt and irreversible shifts in the Earth system — such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest or the West Antarctic ice sheet — are more likely than was thought. At worst, a global cascade of these tipping points could lead to a new, less habitable, ‘hothouse’ climate state. Seven climate scientists look at the evidence for tipping points, explore the effects and urge an emergency response. Nature | 10 min read