This is the “danger zone” we enter after the massive death of corals

The Earth has officially entered a grim new era. climate reality. According to a shocking new reportthe incessant increase in heat in the oceans has pushed the corals from around the world beyond its limit, causing a unprecedented large reef mortality because of this climate change. Something that is not good news at all.

This event, according to scientists, marks the first climate tipping point we have passed as a planet, directly threatening the livelihoods of nearly a billion people.

The report. This data has been collected in the “Global Tipping Points Report 2025”, prepared by an international consortium of more than 200 researchers. And the truth is that they are not at all positive, since they suggest that even in the most optimistic scenario, where global warming does not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, practically all warm-water coral reefs will exceed a point of no return.

This makes their loss “one of the most pressing ecological losses facing humanity,” although the disappearance of corals is only the tip of the iceberg.

Experts point out that since 2023 we have witnessed how the temperature has increased more than 1.5 °C compared to the pre-industrial average. In this way, exceeding the 1.5 °C limit now seems quite inevitable and could occur around 2030, something that puts our planet on the brink of an abyss.

What are ‘turning points’. These points are nothing more than critical thresholds. Once crossed, the climate system is pushed into a new paradigm, triggering effects that will go on in a chain. Specifically, we talk about events such as widespread death of the Amazon rainforestthe collapse of the Greenland ice sheets or the collapse of the circulation of Atlantic southern overturn (AMOC).

The Amazon, in particular, is in a critical situation. The report warns that not only warming threatens the forest, but also the combination of this with deforestation. With 1.5°C warming, only 22% deforestation would be enough to reach its point of no return. The current figure is already at an alarming 17%.

All is not lost. Despite the bleak outlook, the report identifies a silver lining, which is nothing more than a paradigm shift that, unlike the negative ones, triggers a cascade of beneficial changes.

Since 2023, the world has seen very rapid progress in the adoption of clean technologies, especially in two key areas: velectric vehicles and photovoltaic solar energy. Accompanied by a drastic drop in battery prices, these factors are beginning to reinforce each other, accelerating the energy transition in a way that few anticipated.

The problem. According to the report’s authors, it lies in governance systems. From national policies to multinational agreements, such as the from Pariswere not designed to address turning points. They are designed to manage gradual, linear changes, not abrupt, cascading collapses on multiple fronts at once.

But these turning points are really threatening, so they point to a series of immediate actions to be taken in all countries to avoid a catastrophic situation. In this case they point to the following:

1. Reduce emissions of short-lived pollutants such as methane and black carbon.
2. Accelerate efforts to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
3. Making global supply chains sustainable.
4. Develop mitigation strategies for climate impacts.

The message is clear and forceful: what we have done so far is not enough. Researchers urge not to look away. As Milkoreit concludes, “even having a reader have the courage to stay with the problem is work, and I want to recognize that work.”

Images | quinguyen Chris LeBoutillier

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