Runaway climate change describes a scenario in which the climate system passes a threshold or tipping point, after which internal positive feedback effects cause the climate to continue changing, even absent further external forcings. The runaway climate change continues until it is overpowered by negative feedback effects which cause the climate system to restabilise at a new state.
The phrase "runaway climate change" is used to describe a theory in which positive feedbacks result in rapid climate change. It is used in the popular media and by environmentalists with reference to concerns about rapid global warming. Some astronomers use the similar expression runaway greenhouse effect to describe a situation where the climate deviates catastrophically and permanently from the original state - as happened on Venus. It is rarely used in relation to climate change events in climatological literature.
Read more about Runaway Climate Change: Related Terms, Feedbacks, Examples, Current Risk, See Also
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