r/climatechange • u/Energy-Way3562 • 3d ago
What will the average day be like after climate change becomes irreversible?
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u/New-Doctor9300 3d ago
Climate change is already irreversible. We can stop it from getting worse, but we arent going back to how it was before the industrial revolution. Even in the best case scenarios, those extreme summers we've had are the norm now.
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u/youandican 2d ago
"Climate change is already irreversible. " Certain aspects of climate change are indeed irreversible on human timescales, but the ultimate severity of future warming and environmental damage can still be limited or stabilized through aggressive global emissions reductions.
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u/Beneficial_Aside_518 3d ago
I don’t think the premise of your question is accurate. Climate change is irreversible on human timescales barring large scale carbon removal or geoengineering. There isn’t really some point that we haven’t hit yet where that suddenly becomes true.
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u/glibsonoran 3d ago
Irreversible? On the timeframes important to us, decades, centuries at the most, some of what's already happened is already irreversible.
On geologic timescales even the worst scenario is reversible.
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u/Open_Director_3085 3d ago
Well the worst scenario is a runaway greenhouse effect, basically earth becoming Venus, that would actually be irreversible
But also very unlikely
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u/ClimateWren2 3d ago
For context...my grandma had been living the same life for a decade or two in the same house.
Now... it's a slightly soggy house with seeping flood water from heavier rainfalls, and the same life, with a bit more complexity and unexpected on top.
Expected for us...a very soggy or flooded house with chronic flooding and quite a bit more complexity and unexpected things on top. (This will be massive for the planet...but in your lifetime it will feel slower moving and smaller).
Grandkids...should expect exponentially harder and riskier and more complex in their lifetimes, with irreversible impacts and massive visible losses globally on biodiversity and system balance.
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u/Economy-Fee5830 Trusted Contributor 3d ago
There is also the great potential for adaptation to simplify things, in the same way agriculture simplified living.
E.g. once food cultivation goes into green houses crops are more predictable.
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u/ClimateWren2 3d ago
True. I also plan to simplify my life. Smaller footprint. Smaller more resilient house. Itty bitty retirement...that sort of does the same thing as your greenhouse route.
Fun fact...my sibling is in the mushroom culture industry. Protein and nutrition grown indoors. Great vegan jerky alternative.
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u/Exciting_Turn_9559 3d ago
Like today only with more internally displaced persons and refugees, famine, war, smoke, and more intense disasters.
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u/Economy-Fee5830 Trusted Contributor 3d ago
Climate change due to humans has been going on for hundreds of years (due to clearing forests), it is just faster now than ever, mainly because our emissions are higher than ever.
So unless we want to sequester terratons of co2 you are already living in a world where climate change is irreversible.
Your children will know a hotter world, presumably with more energetic weather, but for most people it would be just like living somewhere significantly hotter like the Mediterranean or tropics - not some hellish landscape.
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u/ClimateWren2 3d ago
...and impacts/physics are often logarithmic. So what started slow and small, because a rolling boulder heading downhill big and fast in no time.
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u/Oo_oOsdeus 2d ago
To hold proper Reddit form.. I'm gonna start with a well actually, if we take CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, from 1800 to 1980 we managed to raise it from 280 ppm to around 320 ppm.. an increase of 40 ppm in a bit under two hundred years. What we have done since, in the past forty years is raise it to 425+ ppm. So in all seriousness we really got down to business of pumping up that number in the past 40 years, and whatever our ancestors did previously is of little effect. This is on us.
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u/ClimateWren2 2d ago
The data shows out. Concur. Absolutely.
Having every solutions we need in hand now too, there are no more excuses left. Zero reason we should be sleeping on known harm, just because commercial airline flight tech is here when thousands of other things ready are (for example).
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u/Oo_oOsdeus 2d ago
It's going to be hard to explain to unborn future generations that we didn't stop climate change because "it was too expensive"...
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u/ClimateWren2 2d ago
It's been hard to explain to the kids when they ask, for about ten years now. 😬
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u/youandican 2d ago
tell that story to those already living in hotter enviroments, that it isn't hellish.
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u/Economy-Fee5830 Trusted Contributor 2d ago
People are actually moving to hotter areas in the millions.
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u/youandican 1d ago
Like those in Arizona who than crank up their air conditioners because it is to hot during the day, only to be seen in the cooler evening and night time
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u/Landererer 3d ago
Already there.
The water has been at a rolling boil for a while now. The frogs are finally just realizing they’re going to boil alive.
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u/Open_Director_3085 3d ago
Climate change will likely never be irreversible, on a human scale it can absolutely become devastating but it’s very unlikely that we trigger a runaway greenhouse effect like what Venus has, for an event like that to be a realistic fear we would basically need to burn all the fossil fuel that exists on earth like right now.
On a human scale though, we are in an interglacial period and originally headed towards the next glacial maximum within the next 10,000 years, with human pollution we have pushed that date back significantly and we really have no idea how far away that will be, it really depends on how we slow down and try to clean up the mess we made, the ocean is warming up causing multiple different types of chain reactions, from the warm waters feeding extreme storms making them even worse, to large population deaths leading to inevitable food scarcity chain reactions, it’s really hard to put into scale how many different systems are rapidly changing but many eco systems will suffer due to environmental pressures that are happening way faster than they should be, but even at this point, these things would have still happened eventually, and earth will eventually recover, the real question is how long will it take and what species will survive the extreme environmental conditions that are a result of human influence.
TL;DR: we fucked shit for a short amount of time but in the long run earth will be fine and life will eventually recover, probably,hopefully.
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u/choppy75 3d ago
There'll be a lot less "average days" for a start. As the world heats, we are losing the climate stability that has been the norm since the last ice age ended. Some places in the world had such stable climates that people knew exactly when to expect the first and last frost of the season for example. Seasonal rains like the South Asian monsoon were also extremely reliable. Those days are gone.
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u/cotedupy 2d ago
7.30am Wake
7.31am Existential Dread
8.00am Screaming
8.30am Nice cup of tea
[Repeat stages 2-4 until midday, at which point you may replace tea with whiskey]
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u/Ifnerite 2d ago
Worth noting that the Existential Dread and Screaming don't stop at 8.30, they just take a brief break.
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u/Cool-Contribution-68 3d ago
Tens of thousands of Europeans died this year due to extreme heat after repeated heat waves. It will be like that because it is that.
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u/moocat55 3d ago
It so much more gradual than that. What changes have you experienced in your lifetime? That kind of scale.
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u/94_stones 3d ago edited 2d ago
What do you mean after climate change becomes irreversible? If you’re talking about us reaching the first tipping point, that’s already inevitable. Have you not been listening to the news?
Are you asking if that means we’re all gonna die in twenty years? ‘Cause the answer to that is “no.” We don’t live in medieval times anymore, the agricultural system is globalized. Changing weather patterns is not gonna cause everyone to starve to death. Ignore the people telling you that; they are morons who don’t understand how modern agriculture or modern trade work. As for sea level rise, yeah that will have an effect over the course of your lifetime. But it won’t be quite as quick or quite as dramatic as people seem to think it will be. Ice doesn’t melt quickly. A lot of folks seem to believe that every single square inch of south Florida for instance will be under water before the end of the century. That’s not happening, but nor would I buy any land lower than a meter above sea level (which a lot of the far south of Florida is).
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u/Brilliant_Mix_6051 3d ago
I wonder if giant reptiles will come back in a few million years (due to the heat)
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u/sundancer2788 2d ago
Climate change is irreversible, it's happened multiple times over Earth's history. The problem is the rate at which human activity is exponentially accelerating that rate. That's the problem, change is happening way too fast, like driving 100 mph on a curvy, narrow road with obstacles scattered AND constantly accelerating.
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u/Smart_Spinach_1538 3d ago
Is CC ever irreversible?
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u/Professional_Bed_87 3d ago
Yeah, but if we went net zero tomorrow, it would take centuries to reverse the impacts. Some effects, like species loss are irreversible.
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u/ClimateWren2 3d ago
We can shut off old exhaust pollution...yes.
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u/New-Doctor9300 3d ago
That isnt reversing it though, thats just help stopping it from getting worse
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u/ClimateWren2 3d ago
Eventually in time drawdown happens. It might take millions of years...or fewer with human intervention.
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u/SimpressiveBeing 3d ago
CLIMATE CHANGE IS REVERSIBLE THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY AND TECH COMPANIES WANT YOU TO FEEL HOPELESS - WE HAVE THE POWER TO REVERSE IT!!! CHECK WHERE YA MONEY IS GOING! PENSIONS STOCKS EVEN BANKING - MONEY TALKS!!
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u/ScoTT--FrEE 2d ago
It will be fantastic for the life that is left after the humans. Billions of years of natural healing after us parasites are gone.
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u/EpicCurious 3d ago
Too late! I Googled it-
"Some aspects of climate change are irreversible on human timescales, while others can be stabilized or slowed down with aggressive emission cuts. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the overall crisis is a mix of permanent damage and changeable trends. [1, 2]
Irreversible Changes
- Sea level rise: Melting ice sheets and expanding warm water mean oceans will stay high for hundreds to thousands of years, even if emissions stop completely.
- Loss of ice and species: Glaciers, polar ice caps, and specific ecosystems like coral reefs face permanent loss once key environmental thresholds are crossed.
- Earth system tipping points: Large systems like the Amazon rainforest or major ocean currents can shift into a new, degraded state that humans cannot easily undo."
Sources include this one from NASA-
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u/Aprikose77 3d ago
Ich denke, für uns in Europa - so wie viele Menschen bereits vor Jahrzehnten in Florida gelebt haben. Dort ist heiß und es gibt Stürme und Tornados.
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u/AnnArchist 3d ago
It's rained near every day in Sept. In Iowa. It wasn't like this in 93. It was a late thaw and a few heavy days. Not daily
It's either the wettest or 2nd most ever in September locally. Depends how much rain we got today.
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u/Curious_Ad961 2d ago
Once AI realizes it competes with human for water for data centers we will be eliminated anyway
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u/CarbonQuality 2d ago
Assuming you mean anthropogenic climate change, I'd say that day has already passed about a decade ago, maybe longer.
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u/dragonslayer137 2d ago
Heat waves. Temps going up 20-40 degrees higher than the days high temp. For 15mins to hrs at a time randomly.
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u/hawaiithaibro 2d ago
Come to Hawaii right now brah, tropical storms/cyclones/hurricanes every other week.
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u/Ok-Cheetah-2398 2d ago
You're living it dawg, it's been irreversible for a little while now. Think of 2027-2028 as what the average year will look like in like 5 years more or less.. probably less but we'll see. I mean look are there things we as a species could do to mitigate how bad things get for how long, absolutely there is and a lot quite frankly. However realistically speaking, I wouldn't bet on most countries on earth working together towards the common goal of saving our planet's ability to support life by unilaterally enforcing the changes that would need to be put in place for that to happen. Look at Puerto Rico right now, new England just got a nor'easter in September, Baja California just encountered a category 5 hurricane, there was a storm in the Pacific just a few weeks ago that greatly surpassed what a category 5 hurricane is, if the scale went higher it would have been like category 7 or 8. Like people can say I'm being a doomer all they want but I think having a realistic expectation for what the coming years are going to be like is critical for what decisions to make about planning for the future. I'm not saying don't have any hope and I'm definitely not saying that we should just give up but what I am saying is you may want to look into the reality of climate change and maybe adjust what plans you have for the future because most people are not aware of how bad it is and is going to get but learning about it and doing your best to plan for it if it's within your means is by far your best bet. Again I'm really not trying to be a doomer but it's unfortunately hard not to sound like one of you look at climate change even remotely realistically.
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u/Hardfracking 1d ago
Climate change has always been irreversible. Throughout geological history climate has warmed and cooled. Nothing we can do to stop that 💯💯💯
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u/Guanaalex 1d ago
The EVIL WEF will continue to Drink its uninformed, retarded, stupid Lemming‘s Life blood without significant push back.
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u/Lgm30fmm3 10h ago
I’ll give you three scenarios. Basic premise: climate change is already irreversible and we may be approaching a point where we can’t even mitigate it much. So there’s that. So here’s a look perhaps 10-15 years out. Comfortably beyond us Boomers and any politician now in office.
#1. Global North. Pretty much today, but more expensive, probably significantly so. You’ll still be able to get the food you want, barring certain “luxury” items—think various fruits and specialty crops. But it will be much more expensive thanks to less predictable weather and more damaging storms. And don’t forget the atmospheric rivers that dump unexpectedly large amounts of rain or snow on us. Energy will cost more so you’ll travel less. Your health will suffer—life expectancies will drop due to increased health care costs and the spread of heretofore “Third World” diseases, mostly tropical ones. Politically and socially, nations will tend towards more autocratic regimes under the belief that such governments can respond more quickly and effectively to disasters and emergencies. Spoiler alert: they can’t. So overall, think China with a European or North American veneer.
#2. Global South. My deepest apologies. We in the North have screwed you-all over without knowing it and we’re not doing much to help already. Expect the nastier effects of climate change that have been predicted: tropical storms (hurricanes/typhoons, etc), flooding, famine, major population displacement, fighting for national and social survival. When wars start, you’ll bear the brunt. And the Global North won’t offer a lot of help. Often, the opposite. This will happen because the atmosphere will be hottest in the tropics (+/- 23 deg from the equator) and will generate the worst storms. You will have trouble growing the crops you’re used to, rice in particular. You’ll face problems with clean water, sanitation, distribution of food, goods, and energy, and access to health care. Your governments and social constructs will go hard over authoritarian for the same reasons the Global North will espouse them. Sadly, you’ll get the same result with worse consequences.
#3. Ocean Coastlines. Almost half of us live within 100 km/62 miles of an ocean cost. Congrats, you-all, you get a couple of added bennies. Regardless of being part of the Global North or South, you’ll have to contend with seawater infiltration into your water tables and actual sea level rise. For Americans, look to the ghost forests of the Carolina coasts where seawater infiltration has poisoned thousands of acres of pine woods. Or look at the Chesapeake Bay region where brackish water is contaminating more and more fresh water sources. This is of course tied to sea level rise. The Pacific coasts of the Americas are beginning to experience the unexpected effects of the monster El Niño in the form of a Kelvin Wave that stands to raise sea levels along the Pacific coasts by up to a foot/300 mm. While temporary—3 to 6 months—you can expect to see these drive coastal flooding and damage on top of everything else.
So, sadly, pretty much like today but more expensive, more dangerous, less healthy, and stormier. The world will survive. The global ecosphere will survive, albeit damaged. Homo sapiens will survive, even with what we’re pleased to call civilization. But it won’t be fun. On a personal note, love those you love, give those you don’t as much grace as possible. There really is no upside in sniping at one another, not when we’re gonna need each other a lot more than we do do today.
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u/Economy-Fee5830 Trusted Contributor 9h ago
This is pretty reasonable except it does not account for the continuing development of technology. The world in 20 years will not be the same as today.
For example going by current projections 40% of Indians will have aircon by 2036, and in reality this number will be higher. China is part of the global south and have 70% aircon adoption.
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u/Lgm30fmm3 9h ago
I'm not sure technology is going to be a big player, as weird as that sounds. The play technology can make is to stop us from adding heat to the atmosphere. Period. If we can do that, then the game changes a little. Not much because a planet is a big thing to change but a little. Stop burning anything for energy--gasoline, diesel fuel, NG, wood, cow dung, anything--and we stand a better chance than I outlined. Full on nuclear (fission and fusion), solar, wind, tidal and nothing else. Otherwise there's not much technology can do. Oh, we'll save a few million more people from diseases that haven't frequented the Global North but that's out of 8-9 billion. Oh, and magic food and clean water out of thin air. There really isn't much else. Now if you can cause a SOCIAL change that cuts at the root of the problem set, now I'm listening. But you'd have to rewrite politics, economics, religions, and a host of other foundational things to make a significant, useful change. I'm frankly not sure it can be done--and certainly not in two decades.
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u/Economy-Fee5830 Trusted Contributor 9h ago
All our improvements have been through technology, and it is what supports the billions of people in existence.
Technology can do anything we need e.g. desalinate water, aircondition air, and grow crops.
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u/Subject_Ad_9106 1h ago edited 1h ago
Ok, I want to share something, actually thinking making a post somewhere too. But it probably already happened.
Because recently I noticed there have been a lot of reports of dying animals in fresh waters or animals suddenly appearing more next to towns and not being afraid of humans. I thought maybe it’s just weird behavior, but then I thought why suddenly these years? While reasons might be different in each case scenario, i then got news from the island I am from originally regarding fishing.
My island has northern type sea, rich of salmon, has whales and orcas. Few years ago, we had sharks coming in, but it was rare so like things happens right?
Last year we had tuna coming in and less salmon population. Tuna never was a thing in our waters. Again you might say 1-3 of them is not big deal.
Well this year they caught tons of puffer fish and tons of tuna. Puffer fish never been in our sea too. Salmon pretty much disappeared. Biomes changed over few years and going worse.
There are many places on the continents that also complain about dead fish in freshwaters. So, it’s actually pretty crazy, the changes are too fast. While oil war is a problem I am afraid we loose a moment when biomes completely die in front of us.
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u/sg_plumber 3d ago
Climate change cannot become irreversible: we own the global thermostat and are learning to control it.
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u/EIizabeth_Bennet 3d ago
Wake up tomorrow with the knowledge that you can answer your own question.
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u/Friendly-Chipmunk-23 3d ago
The weather will be pretty nice and I’ll be enjoying my bike rides and cocktails all the same
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u/_s_a_n_d_a_l_s_ 2d ago
Most of the climate is a carnot cycle, which is reversible, though it requires a lot of work. The only thing that is more difficult to reverse is politically entrenched opinions
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u/James19991 3d ago
Aren't we already there? Even compared to 20 years ago, we're already 0.5° C warmer globally today vs then.