US EditionCollapse of Key Atlantic Currents Could Plunge Cities Into Deep Freeze, Study Warns
- A new study by meteorologists René van Westen and Michiel Baatsen published on 2025-06-13 models the impact of an AMOC collapse combined with 2°C global warming on Europe.
- The study responds to ongoing concerns over AMOC weakening from global warming, with earlier research projecting declines between 18 and 80 percent but no full collapse by 2100.
- Their simulations show severe winter cooling with cities like Oslo experiencing below-freezing temperatures for nearly half the year and lows near-50°C, while summer temperatures remain mostly unaffected.
- Van Westen stated that the collapse would be "very bad for society" and highlighted that cooling on an increasingly hot planet is "anything but good news," reflecting widespread scientific concern.
- The study implies profound climate disruptions in Europe’s winters, increased sea level rise especially affecting the US coast, and highlights urgent need to monitor AMOC and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Collapse of AMOC Could Bring ‘Profound Cooling’ to Northern Europe: Study
The collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) — a system of ocean currents that pulls warm water from the Southern Hemisphere and the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere — could put some parts of the globe in a “deep freeze,” according to a new study by researchers from the Netherlands. The findings suggest that, under an intermediate greenhouse gas emissions scenario, global heating would not be enough to outweigh the c…
New simulations show how much colder European winters would get if AMOC collapses
A pair of meteorologists in the Netherlands has used new simulations to show just how cold many of Europe's cities could get if the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) were to collapse due to global warming. In their study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, René van Westen and Michiel Baatsen developed a climate model based on a range of ocean temperature changes that could arise due to global warming.
Scientists issue warning after making troubling discovery in waters off Antarctica: 'Could be more unstable'
A recent discovery by a team of Australian scientists reveals that an ocean current, which acts as a safeguard by protecting Antarctica from warm water that would otherwise melt the region's ice, is at risk of failing. What's happening? Relatively little is known about the Antarctic Slope Current (ASC), but scientists do understand its importance in acting as Antarctica's last line of defense from preventing warm water from invading the region. …
By Laura Paddison, CNN The collapse of a crucial network of Atlantic ocean currents could plunge parts of the world into a deep freeze, with winter temperatures dropping to around -55 degrees Fahrenheit in some cities and bringing “profound climatic and societal impacts,” according to a new study. There are growing concerns about the future of the Atlantic Meridional Circulation (AMC), a system of currents that functions like a giant conveyor be…
A study published on Wednesday 11 June details how a sharp slowdown in Amoc, a set of sea currents that soften the European climate, could lead to much more severe winters from Stockholm to Paris. ...
A study published this Wednesday, June 11, details how, from Stockholm to Paris, a sharp slowdown in AMOC, a set of sea currents that soften the European climate, could lead to much more severe winters.
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