1. The Arctic sea ice is melting

The warming of the Arctic is twice as fast as the global average. If we get an average temperature of 2 degrees, there is a 10-35 percent chance that we will also get ice-free summers in the Arctic in the future.

2. Greenland ice melts

The Greenland Ice could reach a tipping point already at 1.5 degree heating. As the height of the ice cover decreases, thawing will be even faster.

3. The host's large coniferous forests burn and suffer from diseases

Warming up is faster in the Northern Hemisphere and the so-called boreal forests in the Northern Hemisphere are becoming more and more sensitive. The forest fires are increasing and in the long run the forests could go from a carbon dioxide sink to a carbon leak.

4. Permafrost

The permafrost, that is, when the soil temperature does not reach above zero degrees in at least two years, has begun to thaw. In the frozen soil, quantities of the potent greenhouse gas methane are frozen. Methane is about 30 times worse for the greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide.

5. The Atlantic currents are slowing down

The fact that the Greenland Ice and the Arctic are melting faster is in turn increasing the inflow of freshwater into the Atlantic.

This may be one of the reasons why the North Atlantic currents, including the Gulf Stream, have already decreased by 15 percent since the mid-20th century.

6. The Amazon rainforests

Deforestation and climate change have made the Amazon more sensitive. Estimates show that the breaking point of the rain forest can already occur at 20 percent lost forest. Since 1970, the prevalence of Amazon has decreased by 17 percent.

7. Hot water corals die

Half of all the coral in the Great Barrier Reef have already disappeared. If temperatures rise to 2 degrees, as much as 99% of the corals can disappear. The corals die due to warmer water, acidification and pollution.

8. Instability in the West Antarctic ice sheet

A model shows that part of the Amundsen Sea where ice, sea and bedrock meet, is already changing. Collapsing such an important point could lead to a domino effect affecting the entire western Antarctic.

According to the authors of the article, more research and measurement data in this area is still needed to cover the knowledge gap.

9. Parts of the East Antarctic unstable

New data shows that some of the East Antarctica may have similar problems. If the ice at the area called Wilkes Land collapsed, it could lead to 3-4 meters sea level rise over a period of more than a hundred years.

The article “Climate tipping points - too risky to bet against” is published in Nature.