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I_likeIceSheets t1_itw391e wrote

Reply to comment by rainforestguru in Atmospheric levels of all three greenhouse gases hit record high by hugglenugget

I'm (slightly) more in the realm of climate (paleoclimate and glaciers are more my thing). There's no specific time. It's more of a spectrum of fcked than a threshold of fcked ... if that makes sense. While there are physical thresholds in the climate system, like with ice sheets and the biosphere, how we're impacted isn't concrete.

Here's what I tell people: the longer we delay action, the worse the climate crisis will get. It means two things that are very important to understand:

  1. The climate crisis will get worse if actions are not taken. Life will increasingly become more uncomfortable and certain weather events will become more dangerous/deadly. It won't be the end of the world or life as we know it, but it will be fucked.

  2. We can always prevent the worst from happening. By taking action now or later, we can make the climate crisis less fcked in the future. Though some things might not be reversed, we can still make a things better relative to what they could be.

One more thing: everywhere is a climate sensitive area. Be prepared.

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lexilous t1_itw9xf2 wrote

Seconding this! It's not "in the year 2050, all the shit will hit the fan." It's "everywhere will be getting a little more extreme every decade, on average." There are various extreme thresholds (too hot or cold, wet or dry) beyond which human life cannot thrive. The point of "fcked" in a given region would occur when the conditions move beyond that threshold. This is why regions where humans already live close to that climatological threshold - deserts, vulnerable coastlines, dangerous monsoon regions - will be some of the first to go.

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