Domino-effect of climate events could move Earth into a ‘hothouse’ state

Leading scientists warn that passing such a point would make efforts to reduce emissions increasingly futile A domino-like cascade of melting ice, warming seas, shifting currents and dying forests could tilt the Earth into a “hothouse” state beyond which human efforts to reduce emissions will be increasingly futile, a group of leading climate scientists has warned.This grim prospect is sketched out in a journal paper that considers the combined consequences of 10 climate change processes, including the release of methane trapped in Siberian permafrost and the impact of melting ice in Greenland on the Antarctic.Fifty years ago, this would be dismissed as alarmist, but now scientists have become really worried Related: Don’t despair – climate change catastrophe can still be averted | Simon Lewis Continue reading...