We are facing the potential collapse of natural and socioeconomic systems in a world of unbearable heat, frequent extreme weather events, food and fresh water shortages, rising seas, more emerging diseases, and increased social unrest and geopolitical conflict.

To put simply, considering the globe as a whole, high clouds and cloud-free scenes result in warming of the Earth's atmosphere, as less energy escapes into space than arrives from the sun. For low clouds, it is the opposite: their decline leads to warming. (6/8)