The implications of the recently recognized mid-20th century shift in the Earth system

Satellite observations offering detailed records of global environmental change are only available from 1979. Emerging studies combining high-quality instrumental and natural observations highlight that the Earth system experienced a substantial shift across the mid-20th century, one that appears to have taken place before the Great Acceleration of human activities from the 1950s. These new results have far-reaching implications for understanding ice-ocean-atmospheric interactions in the Anthropocene and highlight the urgent need for drastic cuts in carbon emissions to limit the impact of future warming.