Guardian "Point of no return: a hellish 'hothouse Earth' getting closer, scientists say"

[NewHendoLib]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/11/point-of-no-return-hothouse-earth-global-heating-climate-tipping-points?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

The world is closer than thought to a “point of no return” after which runaway global heating cannot be stopped, scientists have said.

Continued global heating could trigger climate tipping points, leading to a cascade of further tipping points and feedback loops, they said. This would lock the world into a new and hellish “hothouse Earth” climate far worse than the 2-3C temperature rise the world is on track to reach. The climate would also be very different to the benign conditions of the past 11,000 years, during which the whole of human civilisation developed.

At just 1.3C of global heating in recent years, extreme weather is already taking lives and destroying livelihoods across the globe. At 3-4C, “the economy and society will cease to function as we know it”, scientists said last week, but a hothouse Earth would be even more fiery.

The public and politicians were largely unaware of the risk of passing the point of no return, the researchers said. The group said they were issuing their warning because while rapid and immediate cuts to fossil fuel burning were challenging, reversing course was likely to be impossible once on the path to a hothouse Earth, even if emissions were eventually slashed.

Snip

Bolding is mine. Just unbelievable.

[Irish_Dem]

1. Politicians and billionaires know exactly what is going to happen.

They are fine with it.

They made a lot of money ruining the planet and refuse to pay one penny to reverse the damage.

[Johnny2X2X]

8. I believe that's why they are obsessed with immigration

They see the coming calamity and know hundreds of millions of people will be looking to migrate to safer areas.

[Irish_Dem]

11. In part yes.

[yardwork]

9. They're engaging in fantasy plans.

Buying Greenland, riding rockets to Mars, building underground bunkers.

[Irish_Dem]

12. Yes but the very rich think they can make all their fantasies come true.

[leftstreet]

2. Well worth the read

Well, okay, scary, horrifying, dystopian...


DURec

[chowder66]

3. Maybe it's time to start pushing this as hard as Epstein files.

[chowder66]

4. K&R

[La Coliniere]

5. The planet is in very, very deep trouble.

And yet most Americans have no interest in owning electric vehicles and big pickup trucks are still very much desired. Ugh

[fujiyamasan]

35. Electric vehicles aren't going to save us

That’s the big lie that enriched Elon Musk.

Democratic administrations are largely responsible for him getting so wealthy.

[AloeVera]

6. It's worse. Politicians are aware but decided to kick the can down the road.

To our descendants.

Their only concern is winning the next election. They are politicians after all, not leaders.

We need visionaries and true leaders, combined with revolutionary changes in our societal and economic structures. I don't see that happening until the really bad times start and by then it will be much too late. It seems that as a species, we are not capable of putting our descendants' lives ahead of our own. Or future gain/survival before present comfort. All we can do is watch the ice melt in sorrow and powerlessness.

Edited to add:
And we're not as smart as we think we are. Or we'd learn from ant colonies and bee hives and work together as a COLLECTIVE. But you know, COMMUNISM and FREEDOM! As I said, revolutionary changes but those would require EVOLUTIONARY changes too.

[yardwork]

10. Most people don't vote for courageous politicians.

They vote for liars and conmen. Or they refuse to vote for somebody they perceive as being not good enough. Either way, the lying conmen win and seize control.

So here we are.

[AloeVera]

13. This is not about Trump or Biden. It's a much bigger issue.

About how our political and societal systems have failed our species - because they've made "courageous politicians" an impossibility as it relates to our future survival. Even before Trump, we fell far short of what was needed to save our planet - and us.

Also about how we lack certain evolutionary qualities of collective and species survival present in even insects.

Not the place to rehash old and tired arguments or score points about the last election. But to each his own.

[Coventina]

7. I don't mind our mass suicide. We deserve it.

I’m just sorry for our fellow creatures and the lovely planet.

[BigmanPigman]

14. Same here. I'm a misanthrope at this point.

[biophile]

26. Totally agree

Humans deserve what they get, for the most part. The other species unfortunately will go down with us.
Bless the beasts and the children.

[IbogaProject]

15. Last time we were over 420 ppm CO2 our planet was 20 degrees warmer overall

And with all that Methane under the Arctic ocean poised to release in mass there is a risk of our water evaporating off the planet. This isn't life will be hard, this is extinction level serious. The last methane caused extinciton cycle killed 90-95% of all life.

[AloeVera]

17. The more I learn, the more hopeless it seems.

Thanks for that info. I think.

That's so bad. But I keep hearing that we can't give up, though it may seem hopeless. Not yet...

Our capacity to fool ourselves and our capacity for hope may be what doom us as much as our rapaciousness for creature comforts, gizmos and wealth.

[leftstreet]

18. That's really horrifying

We need more of this: people who can put these things in perspective in understandable words

[AloeVera]

21. Yes! More of IbogaProject please!

We need awareness. We need to be scared!

[IbogaProject]

19. My hope is for a brief volcanic cool down

I suspect the one remaining mechanism to head the worst off might be increased vulanism. Maybe a large volcano, hopefully not Yellowstone, goes off and gives us some temporary cooling and more polar snow and ice coverage. Here is a recent link, this is by university professors under pen names due to all the climate deniers.

https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2026/02/is-ssp5-85-the-worst-case-scenario.html

[AloeVera]

22. Thanks. Link please?

[IbogaProject]

24. here

https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2026/02/is-ssp5-85-the-worst-case-scenario.html

[leftstreet]

23. I'm not seeing the link?

thx

[IbogaProject]

25. here

https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2026/02/is-ssp5-85-the-worst-case-scenario.html

[hatrack]

28. And we'll exceed 430 ppm this year . . . and after next year, we'll never see 430 again, even in monthly readings.

Welcome to today's episode of "Shit Getting Really Fucking Real".

[LudwigPastorius]

16. But, I need to chat with a shitty AI and make my fake Tik Tok videos of celebrities twerking!

We humans were a promising species, but we opted to boil our own oceans just for the LOLs.

[VGNonly]

20. We are on the brink of trophic cascade.

In 20 years, extreme degradations. In 50 mass extinctions, maybe 5-10% of earth's inhabitants will still be alive.

[NickB79]

27. It's gonna be 55F in Minneapolis this weekend

In the middle of February.

When it should be below zero.

This isn't normal.

[pansypoo53219]

29. goldilocks died about 1985. good luck kids.

[GP6971]

31. And winter isn't over yet. We're now facing a new cold spell.

[surfered]

32. Yes climate change caused by measurable increases in CO2

Which can cause the polar vortex to wobble and move cold arctic air to non polar regions.

[surfered]

34. It is ending