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West Antarctica

Committed future ice-shelf melt

The collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is a worrying climate tipping point, with the potential to raise global sea level by up to 5.3 metres. Now, an assessment of future climate scenarios suggests that accelerated melting of ice shelves in West Antarctica is locked in, even for the most ambitious emissions reduction scenarios.

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Correspondence to Taimoor Sohail.

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Sohail, T. Committed future ice-shelf melt. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 1164–1165 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01817-y

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