tipping point

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a threshold in the climate system beyond which a change becomes self-sustaining and potentially irreversible even if the original forcing is removed; examples include the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the dieback of the Amazon rainforest, and the disruption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation; scientists warn that multiple tipping points may be interconnected in a cascade, meaning that crossing one threshold could trigger others; the concept is central to arguments for urgent emissions reductions to avoid committing future generations to irreversible planetary transformation