representing high and very high biodiversity risk, respectively  . Similarly, WGI AR6 finds that 'Over the 21st century and beyond, abrupt and irreversible regional changes in the water cycle, including changes in seasonal precipitation, streamflow and aridity, cannot be excluded'. Thus, information about irreversibility provides information about the potential outcome of temperature overshoot scenarios. Other types of losses, such as loss of human or species life, are irreversible even if the loss process ceases in the future. The less resilient a system is, the more likely it is to suffer irreversible damage during a temperature overshoot; the more resilient it is, the more likely it is to be able to withstand the overshoot or recover afterwards. Very high levels of risk, as assessed here in the RFC, are associated with a wide range of criteria for risk assessment including irreversibility. While not all very high risks are irreversible, in general, risks reaching a very high level include a component of irreversible risks that would persist during and after an overshooting of a given temperature level.
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report