The planet has entered a ‘new reality’ as it hits its first climate tipping point, landmark report finds

Humans have pushed up temperatures so far they risk triggering a series of climate 'tipping points,' which would bring catastrophic changes and could be irreversible on human timescales. Planet Observer/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

The planet is grappling with a “new reality” as it reaches the first in a series of catastrophic and potentially irreversible climate tipping points: the widespread death of coral reefs , according to a landmark report produced by 160 scientists across the world.

As humans burn fossil fuels and ratchet up temperatures, it’s already driving more severe heat waves , floods , droughts , and wildfires . But there are even bigger impacts on the horizon. Climate change may also be pushing Earth’s crucial systems — from the Amazon rainforest to pol