LONDON - Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about the irreversible changes to the climate.

Researchers have recently cautioned that part of the Greenland ice sheet is on the brink and that the Amazon rainforest is now emitting more CO2 than it absorbs.

Against this backdrop, the emergence of warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream is unlikely to steady climatologists’ nerves.

2021 is a “make or break year” in the fight against climate change, the UN has warned as the UK gears up to host crucial climate talks.

Originally due to be held in Glasgow in November 2020, COP26 will bring together world leaders to co-ordinate action to stop the rise in global temperatures. However, goals set by the group have been repeatedly missed, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres describing 2019’s climate talks, COP25, as “a lost opportunity” to agree on tougher measures on climate action.

An interim report published by the UN in February described a “red alert from the planet”, adding that “governments are nowhere close to the level of ambition needed to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement”.

And that message was echoed in an article published in Nature last year, when a group of leading scientists warned that the Earth’s climate is closer to reaching crucial “tipping points” than was previously thought.

Evidence shows that the Antarctic ice sheets are becoming increasingly unstable, and that the Greenland ice sheets could collapse entirely if global temperatures rise by 1.5C - which could happen as soon as 2030 if current trends persist.

Collapsing ice sheets leads to higher sea levels, one of the most dangerous consequences of climate change.