UN-backed reports warn of 'irreversible' damage if 1.5C warming exceeded

Irreversible damage warning

Two UN-backed reports released Monday warned that exceeding the 1.5C Paris Agreement target risks triggering large-scale and irreversible damage to Earth's melting ice sheets, glaciers and polar regions, accelerating sea-level rise and threatening water supplies worldwide, according to Anadolu Agency. The State of the Cryosphere 2026 report and Overshoot and the Cryosphere: Averting Global Meltdown, backed by the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative and UN Environment Programme, highlighted growing risks from melting glaciers, polar ice sheets and thawing permafrost.

"Overshooting the 1.5C Paris Agreement target will bring large-scale, and in many cases irreversible, impacts from the Earth's melting ice sheets, permafrost, glaciers, sea ice and polar oceans," the reports stated. The documents noted that current warming levels were "already unsafe" for the Arctic, Antarctic and mountain glaciers, citing Switzerland's loss of 20% of its glacier ice over the past five years.

Emissions reduction demands

The reports called for global emissions to be reduced by at least 5% annually starting immediately, with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions reached by mid-century. "There can be no delay in phasing out fossil fuels to retain the possibility of bringing temperatures down in the future by drawing down carbon," the documents underscored.

More than 50 leading cryosphere scientists reviewed the first document, while over 80 polar and mountain scientists contributed to the second. Limiting warming could slow the rate of sea-level rise to levels that coastal communities could adapt to, while potentially halting and partially reversing glacier, snowpack and sea ice loss.

Potential for recovery

"Although returning to 1.5C will slow ice loss, a truly 'safe' temperature target for Earth's ice is now thought to be closer to 1.0C or even below over the coming centuries," the reports noted. "A return to 1.5C and below would initiate some sea ice and glacier re-growth within decades to centuries, and potentially re-establish healthy snowpack levels," they added.

The report further warned that thawing permafrost could release additional carbon into the atmosphere, further intensifying global warming. Switzerland's accelerating glacier melt threatens hundreds of millions of people worldwide with increasing water shortages and mountain hazards as snow drought conditions spread.