Leading Scientists Warn of Imminent Collapse of Major Atlantic Ocean Current with Global Consequences

Forty-four top climate scientists, including Michael Mann, warn in an open letter of the potential collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a critical ocean current system. The AMOC, which regulates heat distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, is slowing due to global warming. If it collapses, it could trigger severe climate disruptions, including extreme weather in Nordic countries, shifts in monsoon systems, rising sea levels, and marine ecosystem instability. The scientists urge urgent global climate action, criticizing current predictions as too optimistic.

A group of 44 leading climate scientists, including University of Pennsylvania climatologist Michael Mann, is warning of the potential collapse of a major Atlantic Ocean current system, known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). In an open letter released on October 21, they urged Nordic policymakers to address this imminent threat, which could have severe and lasting global consequences.

The AMOC, which includes the Gulf Stream, is a crucial system that transports heat to the Northern Hemisphere. Recent research indicates that it is slowing down, potentially approaching a tipping point due to global warming. If the AMOC collapses, it could disrupt global climate patterns, causing severe cooling and extreme weather in Nordic countries, and further affecting regions worldwide. This could exacerbate the cold anomaly already forming in the North Atlantic, negatively impacting agriculture in Northwestern Europe.

The scientists also warn that the collapse could shift tropical monsoon systems southward, devastating agriculture and ecosystems, raise sea levels along the U.S. Atlantic coast, and trigger upheaval in marine ecosystems and fisheries.

Although the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that an AMOC collapse before 2100 is unlikely, the scientists argue this prediction is too optimistic. They stress that even a medium chance of this catastrophic event warrants urgent climate action to minimize the risks, urging policymakers to uphold the Paris Agreement’s targets on limiting global temperature rise.