After So Very Many 'Crying Wolf' Episodes In The Past - It Is So VERY Hard To Believe The Climate Scientists Now.

 A new report released by the UN’s Climate Action Team this week has highlighted how real the risks of rising sea levels are, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres warning that “the surging seas are coming for us all”.

The report, Surging Seas In A Warming World, finds that sea levels are rising at a rate not seen in the last 3,000 years - and that even if emissions are slowed significantly, the world could hit irreversible climate ‘tipping points’ such as the melting of the Antarctic ice sheets.

Factors such as ‘tipping points’ mean that the seas could rise far faster and higher than people expect, the report warns.

Guterres said in a speech at a Pacific islands forum this week, “Rising seas are a crisis entirely of humanity’s making. The world must act, and answer the SOS before it is too late.”

What are ‘tipping points’ and when could we reach them?

The report says that recent studies have found that any additional heating greater than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2050 increases the risk of ‘tipping point’ events such as the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet or the Greenland Ice Sheet.

A polar bear swimming among icebergs near glacier in Fuglefjorden, Norway (Getty) (Paul Souders via Getty Images)The scientists warn that even temporary overshoots (where temperatures decrease later) could still trigger such devastating ‘tipping points’.Scientists already monitor two Antarctic glaciers which could potentially trigger a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.Thwaites Glacier is 74,000 square miles, the size of Great Britain, and is thought to be particularly susceptible to climate change. Over the past 30 years, the amount of ice flowing out Thwaites and its neighbouring glaciers has nearly double.