The effects of climate change are ‘largely irreversible’, according to a new scientific study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The study claims that changes in the temperature, rainfall and sea level will be irreparable for over 1,000 years after emissions have stopped completely.

NOAA senior scientist Susan Solomon led the study, the findings of which appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. She said “Our study convinced us that current choices regarding carbon dioxide emissions will have legacies that will irreversibly change the planet.

“It has long been known that some of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities stays in the atmosphere for thousands of years. But the new study advances the understanding of how this affects the climate system.”

The study looked at the consequences of allowing CO2 to build up to several different peak levels beyond present-day concentrations of 385 parts per million, then halting the emissions entirely.

The authors said there was evidence to suggest that there would be permanent climate impacts, such as changes in rainfall in certain regions and in global sea level increases.

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