Coral Reefs Past Irreversible Tipping Point

Updated: 2026.01.09 20D ago 2 sources
A multi-institution report ahead of COP30 says warm‑water coral reefs have crossed a point of no return, marking the first major climate tipping point to be breached. It also argues the world will overshoot 1.5°C and must confront a 'new reality,' even as it notes positive tipping in solar and wind adoption. — Declaring an irreversible threshold forces a shift from mitigation‑only politics to adaptation triage, loss‑and‑damage, and targeted ecosystem rescue strategies.

Sources

Record Ocean Heat is Intensifying Climate Disasters, Data Shows
msmash 2026.01.09 82% relevant
The article links record ocean warming and prolonged marine heatwaves to decimation of marine life; this evidentiary chain maps straight onto the existing idea that warming‑driven tipping in coral systems has already or imminently crossed thresholds requiring a pivot from mitigation to adaptation and triage.
Earth's Climate Has Passed Its First Irreversible Tipping Point and Entered a 'New Reality'
msmash 2025.10.13 100% relevant
Global Tipping Points Report 2025 and Steve Smith (University of Exeter) stating 'we have passed the first major climate tipping point' at a press briefing.
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