Europe is in danger of significant cooling, climate scientists warn after news broke last week that one of Earth’s major ocean currents is on the way to collapse due to the effects of global warming.
These concerns have come to light following a recent study, helmed by researcher René M. van Westen, which claims that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), one of Earth’s major ocean currents, is on route to cease flowing.
The AMOC plays a major role in global temperature exchange, transporting warm water from the tropics toward the North Atlantic region, including areas around Europe, Greenland and northeastern North America.
This redistribution of heat is critical to regulating temperatures in these higher latitudes, influencing regional climates and weather patterns.
As such, the AMOC collapsing would likely lead to a notable cooling of the northern hemisphere, specifically in Europe, and a potential rise in sea levels along eastern United States coasts.
Increased uncertainty
According to Ori Adam, a professor at the Hebrew University Climate Science Center and self-proclaimed global warming optimist, this would be notable but nowhere near catastrophic — especially considering that it may effectively negate some of the current effects of global warming.
Scientists warn world at risk, as major ocean current nears collapse
“Let’s put this in context. Let’s say this happens by the end of the century: this would mean a very significant and rapid cooling of the northern hemisphere. So despite global warming being the potential trigger for this, the response would be a significant cooling of Europe, which is opposed to the warming trends that we’re seeing right now,” he elaborates.
“Under this scenario, the southern hemisphere would get warmer, because now you’re not taking all of that heat from it,” he admits. “But since most of the continents are in the northern hemisphere, and that’s where people live, it would be less felt
