At 3°C of warming, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is already crumbling, may well start breaking down irreversibly.
Neither coral reefs nor the Amazon rainforest are likely to survive econ.st/3ivZKrV
More frequent and more extreme heatwaves will become common in places with little or no experience of heatwaves. Which new regions will be affected?
In fact, it is all of the above.
Those who cannot afford to adapt will suffer disproportionately, as will those whose jobs are primarily done outdoors.
In warmer regions such as the humid tropics, temperatures will reach lethal levels econ.st/3ivZKrV
In less humid places, heat depletes water supplies.
At 3°C, more than a quarter of the world’s population would be exposed to extreme drought conditions for at least one month a year econ.st/3jC2weG
Hot as it is, this year will probably be one of the 21st century's coolest. The extremes of floods and fires are not going away—and urgent action is needed econ.st/3CqchFv
The IPCC's models of climate change—which are, more than ever before, backed up with observations—should offer a call to arms for Glasgow’s #COP26econ.st/3jGzHxw
But cutting greenhouse-gas emissions is not enough. The world urgently needs to invest in adapting to the changing climate, too. Read how this can be done econ.st/3CqchFv
Climate change touches everything The Economist reports on. Sign up for The Climate Issue, our free newsletter, which delivers the best of our climate-change analysis to your inbox every fortnight econ.st/3s8cM1X
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England has ended all social restrictions. But the country is confronted with a large new wave of covid-19 infections. Thread 👇
Analysis by The Economist finds that in recent months the link between covid-19 cases and subsequent hospitalisation and death in England has weakened—but not entirely broken econ.st/3zfvpmY
Official cases in England per head of population are the sixth highest in the world and infections are doubling every six days econ.st/3zfvpmY
Plans to overhaul American energy will come before Congress in the next few months. What unfolds will set the course in America for the next decade—and quite possibly beyond. Thread 👇 econ.st/2ZSGk6N
Last week America rejoined the Paris agreement. But as one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, it must do much more econ.st/3bvuGnr
Joe Biden wants America's net greenhouse-gas emissions to reach zero by 2050 and the electricity sector to be emissions-free by 2035. Delaying action to 2030 would nearly double the cost of reaching these targets econ.st/3bvuGnr
Today is Donald Trump's last full day in office. He has made The Economist's cover many times in the past five years. Our editors have picked some of the most notable. Take a look back at his presidency in this thread 👇 econ.st/38VQuZy
When Mr Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency in June 2015, many found it hard to take him seriously. But the possibility that he might win was not a joke. From September 5th 2015 econ.st/2XX20xk
When Mr Trump won the presidency, an era of uncertainty beckoned. From November 12th 2016 econ.st/2M2oWIU
Today Wikipedia celebrates its 20th birthday. But how much do you really know about the crowdsourced encyclopedia? Test your knowledge (and no peeking ahead at the answers!) 👇
Wikipedia is the most-read reference work ever. How many page views does the site attract per month?
Read how the site, once treated as a bit of a joke, came to be taken seriously econ.st/2LKm3MT
📮 As well as laughs—intentional and otherwise—Christmas newsletters provide a rich social history. A festive thread (1/10) economist.com/christmas-spec…
The oldest archived example of a Christmas newsletter was penned by Marie Harris in 1948, detailing her family’s move to a rambling old farmhouse in Oregon (2/10)
After the second world war, Christmas newsletters emerged as a medium on both sides of the Atlantic (3/10)
What will 2021 hold for American politics? There are a few things to watch out for. Thread 👇 #TheWorldIn2021 (1/11) econ.st/33vdX0H
The Biden administration will take rapid steps to rebuild America’s Trump-bruised institutions, its economy and its foreign policy (2/11) econ.st/3nT7e8p
But the 2020 presidential election will not reset America's relations with China. The Biden team wants to see a fitter, smarter America pick fights with China more carefully—then train hard to win each one (3/11) econ.st/33eOFDB