climate breakdown

American  

[klahy-mit breyk-doun] / ˈklaɪ mɪt ˌbreɪk daʊn /

noun

Climatology.

1. the collective effects of harmful and potentially irreversible trends in climate, specifically those resulting from unchecked global warming.

   In September 2023, the United Nations announced that “climate breakdown has begun.”

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Etymology

Origin of climate breakdown

First recorded in 2000–05

Example Sentences

Any food produced here is increasingly vulnerable to climate breakdown, partly due to poor soils caused by chemical-intensive monocropping.

From Salon • Dec. 11, 2024

Across the planet, the signs of climate breakdown are growing more disturbing by the day.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 5, 2023

There are 16 kids who brought the lawsuit, and the majority of them actually testified and gave these really personal, really moving testimonies about the ways that climate breakdown has threatened their ways of life.

From Slate • Jul. 30, 2023

“We want to have this conversation, and to bring it around to our demand about what we need to do to avoid climate breakdown and collapse,” Ms. Carrington said.

From New York Times • Oct. 26, 2022

But his party colleague, Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, criticised the plan further, saying: "Instead of taking action to address injustices like racism and climate breakdown, they want to stop people sounding the alarm."

From BBC • May 10, 2022