The weakening of the Gulf Stream raises concerns of a real-life “Day After Tomorrow” scenario, with scientists warning of significant climate challenges.
By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE
As anyone who has seen ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ can attest, the world would look dramatically different if the Gulf Stream gave way.
In the 2004 blockbuster film starring Jake Gyllenhaal, an enormous ‘superstorm’ triggered by the collapse of the Gulf Stream sets off catastrophic natural disasters.
Around the world, people are frozen under layers of snow, drowned in massive tsunamis and dramatically crushed under vehicles thrown by tornados.
Now, scientists at the Met Office warn that Earth’s system of ocean currents is ‘weakening’, although it is unlikely to collapse this century.
The Gulf Stream is only a small part of a much wider system of currents, officially called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or AMOC.
Described as ‘the conveyor belt of the ocean’, it transports warm water near the ocean’s surface northwards from the tropics up to the northern hemisphere, keeping Europe, the UK and the US east coast temperate.
Lead author Dr Jonathan Baker, a senior scientist at the Met Office, said: ‘The AMOC has a crucial role in regulating our climate; without it, northwest Europe’s temperatures would be much cooler.
‘Although our study shows that collapse over the next 75 years is unlikely, the AMOC is very likely to weaken, which will present climate challenges for Europe and beyond.’
