We asked scientists about the tiny shifts that could cause catastrophic damage

“Climate breakdown,” wrote our global environment writer Jonathan Watts this week, “can be observed across many continuous, incremental changes such as soaring carbon dioxide levels, rising seas and heating oceans. The numbers creep up year after year, fuelled by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.”

But alongside this gradual worsening, he explained, scientists have also identified at least 16 “tipping points” – thresholds where a tiny shift could cause fundamental parts of the Earth system to change irreversibly and with potentially devastating effects.

This week, in an important (and worrying) series, Jonathan has been interviewing leading scientists and experts on some of these potential tipping points to understand what they will look like – and to ask if we have already passed some of them.

Jonathan interviewed a climate communications expert, Genevieve Guenther, who explained why talking about tipping points is a powerful way to counteract the narrative that the climate threat is under control. He also spoke to scientists about what these moments may mean for the collapse of coral reefs, the future of the Amazon rainforest and the sudden, enormous drop in levels of polar ice. As well as sharing their scientific expertise, all of them also talked incredibly movingly about how it makes them feel to watch their particular area of study hurtle towards a cliff edge and the fact that, as Guenther put it: “the children we have in our homes today are threatened with a chaotic, disastrous, unliveable future.”

There is, however, still hope. In Jonathan’s final piece for the series, published later today, he spoke to Tim Lenton, professor of climate change and earth system science at the University of Exeter, who began studying the risks of climate tipping points in the early 1990s. While Lenton is just as worried as the scientists we talked to, he also pointed to the power of positive societal tipping points: from burgeoning wind power and photovoltaic innovation to positive government policies and the knock-on effects of campaigning by the likes of Greta Thunberg. Earlier this year, our environment team launched the year-long 89% project - highlighting that most of the world’s population want to see positive action on the environment, but don’t realise they’re in the majority.

At the Guardian we have always tried to highlight ways in which we can inspire hope. This weekend, we’ll have a presence at Glastonbury festival, where as media partner (for a 28th year) we are making available a beautiful magazine packed full of ways to improve the world, from the big (the city in Colombia that shuts to cars every week) to the small (how to welcome more nature into your garden or outside space). For anyone lucky enough to be there, do pick up a copy. For those watching on television or following via our brilliant Glastonbury live blogs, news, features and reviews – the magazine will also be available more widely soon.

Following Donald Trump’s sudden bombing of Iran last weekend, our reporting team in the Middle East, the US and across the world covered the dramatic days that followed as an all-out war threatened. Julian Borger traced the timeline of the US attack, looking at how far back it was planned (and the role Trump’s sleights of hand played); Andrew Roth noted in an analysis that where Trump had once seemed like he would rein in Benjamin Netanyahu’s military ambitions he had instead realised the Israeli prime minister’s long-held goal of US involvement in a strike on Iran. Peter Beaumont assessed the damage from the US strikes and Patrick Wintour examined how Iran’s nuclear programme became key to the Islamic Republic’s identity.

Reporters William Christou, Shah Meer Baloch and Deepa Parent spoke remotely to ordinary people in Iran – a country where international journalists are unable to work freely – to report on panic in the capital after the strikes. Meanwhile our community team heard directly from readers like Anahita in Iran about their experiences on the ground. When Israel’s bombs struck Iran’s notorious Evin prison, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – who served five years inside it – wrote about her fears for the critics of the regime being held there. Iranian artist and writer Helah Anvari wrote about the frustration on the streets of Tehran about ordinary folk bearing the brunt of war and geopolitics. William Christou was also with Israelis in Beersheba, where one of the last Iranian missiles landed before Tuesday’s ceasefire took effect, crumpling a seven-storey apartment block and killing four residents. Julian Borger looked at who had gained the most when the US, Israel and Iran were all claiming victory and Paul Owen charted a chaotic 24 hours of Trump’s involvement which culminated in him berating Iran and Israel in extremely unpresidential terms.

Meanwhile in Gaza, the fight for survival has turned into one of lethal chaos with as many as 450 people killed at aid points over 12 days, as Jason Burke and Malak A Tantesh reported in Gaza. Our visuals team told a powerful visual story about a single street in Gaza City through the eyes of Palestinians who used to live nearby. In the US, Oliver Laughland was one of a handful of journalists present in Louisiana when Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was released from Ice detention.

Daniel Boffey had a shocking exclusive about autistic British activist Joe Booth, who was left with PTSD after he was arrested in bed at his supported housing during a police raid on a Quaker meeting house.

The UK Labour government has been facing a growing rebellion over its controversial welfare bill, with Pippa Crerar and Jessica Elgot leading our coverage. On Monday the government was thrown into chaos after it emerged that 108 MPs had backed an amendment which threatened to bring down the bill. On Wednesday Pippa had an exclusive revealing details of the concessions Keir Starmer was preparing to offer the rebels in a desperate bid to get his bill over the line, and then revealed further details of the high stakes negotiations with his own party on Thursday before the government’s U-turn was finally confirmed in the early hours of Friday morning. Pippa discussed the rebellion with Kiran Stacey on Politics Weekly UK, too. Columnist Frances Ryan, who has been a leading voice in the criticism of the bill, wrote that even despite Friday’s government’s change of direction, the bill will haunt the Labour party for years to come.

Elsewhere, we followed the protests in Venice against the scale of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding. Angela Giuffrida was in the city as a threatened flotilla of inflatable crocodiles was enough to see a change of venue. Zoe Williams met some of the fed-up Venetian protestors who see the billionaire’s wedding as the last straw for a city buckling from overtourism. And in a fantastic Long read, Marzio Mian explored Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s plans to turn one of the Mediterranean’s last undeveloped islands, in Albania, into a luxury resort.

Readers around the world were gripped by New York’s mayoral primary to decide the Democratic candidate for elections in November. Adam Gabbatt followed the race where the progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani triumphed over establishment rival, Andrew Cuomo. Jenna Amatulli and Edward Helmore captured the jubilant mood in NYC among Mamdani’s supporters. Before Mamdani’s win, Ed Pilkington profiled him (with lovely portraits by Thalia Juarez), diving into how his affordability message and savvy use of social media helped him capture the imagination of young New Yorkers. Bernie Sanders wrote for us on what the Democratic party can learn from Mamdani’s win, and David Smith argued why it could offer a path out of the wildernesse Democrats desperately need.

For our ongoing Cotton Capital series, Michela Moscufo told the story of the scholar hired by Harvard to research its ties to slavery, who claims they were then fired for finding “too many slaves”.

In Australia, an exclusive investigation by Lisa Cox looked at how an obscure consultancy firm is helping fracking companies influence traditional owners in the Northern Territory.

How much does Uber make from fares, and how much does it share with drivers? That has always been shrouded in mystery, but new research concludes drivers have earned “substantially less” an hour since the ride hailing app introduced a “dynamic pricing” algorithm in 2023 that coincided with the company taking a significantly higher share of fares. Simon Goodley looked into the secretive algorithm, as a growing number of academics say the Silicon Valley company is maximising profits at the expense of the drivers and passengers.

With Wimbledon starting on Monday, Donald McRae wrote a revealing interview with Nick Kyrgios and the retired Andy Murray told Sean Ingle why he was expecting to swerve the tournament altogether - and that he has faith the All England Club won’t mess up his new statue. And, ahead of the Women’s Euros, which begin on Wednesday, Marcus Christenson, Steven Bloor and Garry Blight launched an incredible – and unique – interactive guide to all 368 players at the tournament.

Do French parents handle discipline better? Will an Italian dinner time ruin bedtime? Five writers put European parenting styles to the test in this engaging – and useful! – feature.

Ahead of her Glastonbury debut, Alanis Morissette let rip to Charlotte Edwardes about what it was like to come of age as a popstar during the predatory 90s. We also spoke to Kneecap, the Irish rap trio, whose performance at the festival has been deemed “inappropriate” by Keir Starmer – they told Shaad D’Souza that the backlash against them is a deliberate distraction. Music editor Ben Beaumont-Thomas also wrote a comprehensive guide to what to look out for at the festival. Elsewhere, I loved our roundup of the 50 hottest books to read now and our round up of our readers’ favourite movies of the year so far contained some great tips. Oliver Wainwright celebrated Save Britain’s Heritage, the group that has rescued many of Britain’s most cherished buildings; and Kadish Morris remembered Thin Black Lines, a show that changed everything for Black and Asian female artists in Britain, in this sparkling and moving piece.

One more thing …Adam Curtis’s idiosyncratic documentaries can have a Marmite appeal but I have always loved them. Shifty, his new five-part series for the BBC, is at once familiar in style and utterly engrossing in its content. Starting in the late 70s with archive footage of Margaret Thatcher meeting Jimmy Savile, it takes a series of fascinating detours as it builds a unifying theory of how British society became fatally atomised through economic shock doctrine, political cynicism and the march of technology. Curtis mixes his cutup style with deep mining of the archive and flashes of humour that make it an addictive watch. I particularly liked the way the use of captions over narration made it impossible to half watch while second screening. You might not agree with all of his theories, but you will definitely be forced to think. Among many other things, you’ll never listen to Bucks Fizz in the same way again.

Cook this | José Pizarro’s pimentos rellenos (green peppers stuffed with slow-cooked ragu)

Stuffed piquillo peppers have long been popular in restaurants and homes across Spain, and are often filled with oxtail or bacalao. This dish provides a similar comforting experience, maintaining the essence of the traditional classic while at the same time being a bit more accessible.

Watch this | Which countries have nuclear weapons – and are they likely to use them?

Nuclear weapons are front of mind after the US struck a number of Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons sites. How many countries have nuclear weapons? Which countries are capable of building nuclear weapons? What is the non-proliferation treaty? And why are some countries allowed to have nuclear weapons and not others? Matilda Boseley explains.

Listen to this | ‘Huge advances in cancer and rare diseases’: 25 years of the human genome – Science Weekly

It has been 25 years since Bill Clinton announced one of humanity’s most important scientific achievements: the first draft of the human genome. At the time, there was a great deal of excitement about the benefits that this new knowledge would bring. To find out which of them came to pass, and what could be in store, Madeleine Finlay is joined by science editor Ian Sample.

The Guardian’s crosswords and Wordiply are here to keep you entertained throughout the weekend.