Atlantic current system AMOC now looks far more likely to collapse than scientists first thought

ORIGIN: https://www.yourweather.co.uk/news/

The Atlantic current system that keeps Europe’s climate stable looks more likely to collapse than previously estimated, after new research found climate models showing the worst outcomes best match real-world data

New research has narrowed uncertainty around a major Atlantic current, showing it has been far more likely to weaken dramatically than earlier projections suggested.

There’s a system of ocean currents in the Atlantic called the AMOC — the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation — and it does more heavy lifting for the global climate than most people realise. Pulling sun-warmed water up from the tropics towards Europe and the Arctic, where it cools and sinks, it forms a deep return current heading back south.

This system has already been shown to be at its weakest in about 1,600 years because of rising global temperatures, and scientists flagged warning signs of a possible tipping point back in 2021, so it’s not like this has come out of nowhere.

What’s changed now, according to fresh research, is that scientists have managed to work out which of the many climate models