As Antarctica melts, seaways will open up between oceans that are currently separated by the ice sheet.

We may trigger hyperwarming that transforms the planet into a hothouse with tropical temperatures and lush forests close to the poles.

It's 2080. Global emissions peaked decades ago, too late to keep temperatures from rising more than 2 °C above preindustrial levels. The shift in climate has changed the world. As temperatures climbed by 2 °C, effects were felt first in poor and vulnerable regions like sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. Extreme weather events - droughts, floods and hurricanes - became more common and severe. Vulnerable nations had a stark choice: adapt or face millions of deaths. At huge financial cost, society has adapted.

As the latest round of United Nations climate negotiations began in Durban, South Africa, expectations could scarcely have been lower. A globally binding deal is further away than ever. That makes considerable warming from climate change inevitable.

Earlier this year, ozone loss over the Arctic was on a scale comparable to that over the Antarctic.

A string of technologies that could be used to engineer our environment to head off climate change are being field-tested.

The first complete map of the lakes beneath Antarctica suggests the icy continent's secret water network is more active than we thought.