What is a Feedback loop?

Climate crisis refers to the serious problems caused or likely to be caused by changes in the planet's climate. Since the 1800s, the Earth's average temperature has risen by 1.1°C, causing significant damage in many parts of the world. Scientists estimate that an increase of more than 1.5°C would lead to a series of dangerous critical thresholds being crossed, which could make many changes irreversible and pose a very serious threat to human civilization.

A climate feedback loop is when a change in the climate triggers further changes, and these continue in a chain reaction that gets stronger over time. Feedback loops can eventually trigger critical thresholds at which changes in our planet's climate systems become too severe and irreversible.

Scientists warn about a number of serious feedback loops that are already driving global warming. For example, as the Arctic Ocean melts, ocean waters that receive less light absorb more heat, speeding up the warming process, which leads to more ice melting. Similarly, forest fires release greenhouse gases as they consume forests, leading to more warming and more forest fires. Other feedback loops include permafrost melting, tree dieback in forests and insect outbreaks.