Adelie penguins on an ice floe floating off the Mertz Glacier along the coast of Antarctic. Dean Lewins/Press Association. All rights reserved.
The earth's climate emergency is highlighted in several important new studies. But will this flurry become a genuine turning-point, or dissipate under pressure of denialism, cynicism – and disunity?
These studies leave no doubt about the dangers. Before the global summit at Katowice in December, an IPCC science report had warned that time is now very short to prevent catastrophic climate disruption. Even as the ten-day meeting was in session, a new Nasa study said it had “detected the first signs of significant melting in a swathe of glaciers in Eastern Antarctica” (see "Climate action: the new frontier", 17 December 2018) .
