20 years ago, the UN Climate Panel introduced the idea of ​​"tipping points", a kind of threshold that if we step over them can lead to irreversible changes in the earth's climate.

Then the scientists did not think it would be possible to step over these threshold points until the earth's average temperature rose to above 5 degrees.

Nine active thresholds

But in a debate article in the journal Nature, Swedish researcher Johan Rockström, together with other co-authors, identifies nine breakpoints that are already active.

They show that some of these break points can be reached already at 1-2 degrees heating. The basis for the article comes from the two latest IPCC reports.

The aim of the article is to get the world's politicians to act during the Madrid climate conference which starts next week.

Uncertainty in some forecasts

Nina Kirchner and Martin Jakobsson, both researchers at the Bolin Center for Climate Research at Stockholm University, have read the article. They feel that one must take into account that the article points out and refers results with the worst case scenarios.

One of their objections is, for example, that the uncertainty in forecasts of sea level rise and ice melting is great. They believe that more data from Christian areas in Antarctica and Greenland are needed to cover the knowledge gap.

Something the researchers themselves agree with in that case. But Johan Rockström still believes that the evidence is strong enough for the world's leaders to act with full force.

“This is strong scientific evidence to trigger a planetary emergency,” says Johan Rockström in a press release.

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