Climate tipping points in Earth’s climate system

Click on each circle in the image to learn more about that tipping element.

Climate tipping points are specific thresholds within Earth's complex systems, such as the atmosphere, oceans and ecosystems – where a change in the Earth’s climate can trigger an irreversible shift in the system's state. These points mark areas where transition from one stable climate state to another are already taking place, often leading to cascading effects that impact ecosystems, weather patterns and global climate dynamics.

The pins are coloured according to our central global warming threshold estimate being below 2°C, within the Paris Agreement range (seen as yellow circles), between 2–4°C, accessible with current policies seen as orange circles, and 4°C and above (seen as red circles).