Are we Already in a Climate Crisis?

Abstract

Global warming, melting of the permafrost, glaciers and sea ice, rising sea level as well as ocean warming and acidification have resulted in degradation of ecosystems and increased occurrences of extreme weather events which threaten the social and economic systems. The media and scholarly articles have interpreted these dire consequences of climate change as a climate crisis intimidating the survival of human and other inhabitants on Earth. This mini review aims to examine the concept of climate crisis and establish whether the current state of climate change fits the definition of climate crisis. There is generally a lack of consensus on what a climate crisis is and a plausible notion presents it as a state of climate change beyond the tipping points. This brings tipping points into determining whether we are in a climate crisis and this review finds that the only tipping point surpassed with high probability is that for melting permafrost, glaciers and sea ice. It is particularly challenging to locate the tipping points in a complex Earth system with high geographical, ecological and environmental variability. This review concludes that we are yet to be in a climate crisis but synergistic impacts of environmental degradation could usher in a climate crisis faster than we think. Keywords: Climate change; Crisis; Blobal warming; Melting; Ocean; Rainforest