🌏 Earth on Trajectory to Trigger Climate Tipping Points

🪸 Largest Coral Bleaching Event Ever

The world’s coral reefs are in the midst of the largest global bleaching event ever recorded. Bleaching-level heat stress has impacted 83.7% of the world’s coral reef area between January 2023 and April 2025, impacting at least 83 countries and territories. Coral reef bleaching occurs when warmer ocean temperatures cause the expulsion of algae that live in the coral tissue. This leaves the coral completely white. Bleaching does not necessarily mean that the coral will die, however. They can recuperate if the strain on their ecosystem is reduced. At a local level, things like storms, disease, sediments, and changes in salinity can also cause bleaching.

Leah Sarnoff, ABC News

🌏 Earth on Trajectory to Trigger Climate Tipping Points

A new study released on April 23rd suggests the world is on course to trigger several climate “tipping points” if global policies stay on their current path. Climate tipping points are specific moments when the planet has warmed so much that certain effects become irreversible. Some of the tipping points noted in the study include collapse of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, coral reef die-offs, Amazon rainforest loss, lack of winter sea ice in the Arctic, abrupt permafrost thaw, mountain glacier loss, and collapse of a key Atlantic current that could affect climate worldwide. The study says in order to prevent the planet from reaching these tipping points, urgent global action is needed. For individuals, this could including eating less meat, adopting renewable energy, and adopting electric vehicles.

Doyle Rice, USA Today

🇨🇦 University of Toronto Launches Climate Institute

Last week, the University of Toronto announced it is launching a new institute to leverage the university’s expertise in addressing the climate crisis across a diverse range of fields. The new Lawson Climate Institute will help drive the transition to a more sustainable and prosperous future by accelerating solutions that are practical, scalable, and equitable. Through a multidisciplinary approach, they will ramp up U of T’s capacity to advance the technologies and policies needed for Canada to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The Institute will have four main areas of focus: develop sustainability technologies; advance equitable climate policy solutions and sustainable finance opportunities; establish the Lawson Scholars program to help build a cadre of climate change leaders; and transform U of T’s campuses into living labs where students, faculty, and industry partners can demonstrate novel and practical ways to create sustainable institutions.

University of Toronto

If you’re new here, or if you missed any of our other newsletters in April, here is a recap:

• 🏜️ Global Soil Moisture Sees Steady Decrease and Changes Earth's Spin

• 🌴 Hawaii is Sinking 40 Times Faster Than Predicted

• 🌊 La Niña is Over

• 🐄 Combating Climate Change with a Cow Fart Vaccine