Climate set for 'sudden shifts' (BBC)

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By Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, BBC News

Many of Earth's climate systems will undergo a series of sudden shifts this century as a result of human-induced climate change, a study suggests.

A number of these shifts could occur this century, say the report's authors.

They argue that society should not be lulled into a false sense of security by the idea that climate change will be a gradual process.

The work by an international team appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

"Our findings suggest that a variety of tipping elements could reach their critical point within this century under human-induced climate change," he said.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7227080.stm