Europe May Freeze If This Ocean Current Collapses
The climate crisis may lead to devastatingly cold winters rather than scorching summers.
A collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation would produce fiercer hurricanes and freezing winters.
Photographer: Handout/Getty Images North AmericaTo most people, adapting to climate change means preparing for warmer temperatures. It’s why we’re finally getting some long-overdue reservoirs in the UK, why Kent now has an abundance of vineyards and plucky growers are attempting to produce oil from locally grown olives in Lincolnshire.
But what if the climate crisis instead plunges us into a world of frozen winters and parched summers, rendering those agricultural investments worthless? This risk has been greatly underestimated, as well as poorly communicated — and it all depends on what happens in the Atlantic Ocean.