Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at Risk of Abrupt Collapse in Coming Decades, Study Warns

The study, conducted by Peter Ditlevsen and Susanne Ditlevsen from the University of Copenhagen, found that a collapse of the AMOC was likely to occur "around mid-century under the current scenario of future emissions" - possibly as soon as 2025 and not later than 2095.

However, other scientists have expressed caution in interpreting the findings.

Niklas Boers of the Technical University of Munich said that the modeling used in the study was "heavily oversimplified" and that the authors had made assumptions that were uncertain.

The AMOC is a vital current that plays a crucial role in regulating the seas that bathe the European and North American Atlantic coastlines.

It pushes warm water north along the Gulf Stream, which keeps Europe warm.

Its sudden end would have disastrous consequences, according to Jonathan Bamber, director of the Bristol Glaciology Centre.

The current is being affected by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, which are causing cold, fresh water to sluice off melting Greenland ice sheets into the North Atlantic, creating a cold blob in the warming ocean.

This is already causing an observed slowing of the currents that regulate the seas.

The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently found that the current was unlikely to suddenly stop this century.

However, the study conducted by Ditlevsen and Ditlevsen found that the current was more likely to collapse than previously thought.

If the current were to switch off, it would have a profound impact on the global climate.

Much of the Northern Hemisphere would be gripped by freezing temperatures, and sea ice would creep south from the North Pole toward Europe.

Rainfall would be affected across the planet, with some continents experiencing drought while others were flooded.

Penny Holliday, head of marine physics and ocean circulation at the U.K.’s National Oceanography Centre, said