Oh, Old Man Winter will have plenty to do when the Golf Stream collapses completely. Rome will have plenty harsh winters then, with months of snow. England will have a very long winter (around 6 months or so) with a very short summer in between.
The Atlantic Ocean circulation that underpins the Gulf Stream, the weather system that brings warm and mild weather to Europe, is at its weakest in more than a millennium, and climate breakdown is the probable cause, according to new data.
Further weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could result in more storms battering the UK, more intense winters and an increase in damaging heatwaves and droughts across Europe.
Scientists predict that the AMOC will weaken further if global heating continues, and could reduce by about 34% to 45% by the end of this century, which could bring us close to a “tipping point” at which the system could become irrevocably unstable. A weakened Gulf Stream would also raise sea levels on the Atlantic coast of the US, with potentially disastrous consequences.
Stefan Rahmstorf, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, who co-authored the study published on Thursday in Nature Geoscience, told the Guardian that a weakening AMOC would increase the number and severity of storms hitting Britain, and bring more heatwaves to Europe.
He said the circulation had already slowed by about 15%, and the impacts were being seen. “In 20 to 30 years it is likely to weaken further, and that will inevitably influence our weather, so we would see an increase in storms and heatwaves in Europe, and sea level rises on the east coast of the US,” he said.
Anthropogenic climate change is not proven… Climate change due to fluctuations in the Earth’s axis tilt, solar output, etc. are something we can’t change. We can however, plan for the contingency.
dvandom over 3 years ago
Lead time bites ’em in the butt.
nosirrom over 3 years ago
Hammy, some day when you get older you’ll only miss mittens when you can’t find them. Year round!
alien011 over 3 years ago
Oh, Old Man Winter will have plenty to do when the Golf Stream collapses completely. Rome will have plenty harsh winters then, with months of snow. England will have a very long winter (around 6 months or so) with a very short summer in between.
Ellis97 over 3 years ago
He’s chillin out.
Masterskrain over 3 years ago
The Atlantic Ocean circulation that underpins the Gulf Stream, the weather system that brings warm and mild weather to Europe, is at its weakest in more than a millennium, and climate breakdown is the probable cause, according to new data.
Further weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could result in more storms battering the UK, more intense winters and an increase in damaging heatwaves and droughts across Europe.
Scientists predict that the AMOC will weaken further if global heating continues, and could reduce by about 34% to 45% by the end of this century, which could bring us close to a “tipping point” at which the system could become irrevocably unstable. A weakened Gulf Stream would also raise sea levels on the Atlantic coast of the US, with potentially disastrous consequences.
Stefan Rahmstorf, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, who co-authored the study published on Thursday in Nature Geoscience, told the Guardian that a weakening AMOC would increase the number and severity of storms hitting Britain, and bring more heatwaves to Europe.
He said the circulation had already slowed by about 15%, and the impacts were being seen. “In 20 to 30 years it is likely to weaken further, and that will inevitably influence our weather, so we would see an increase in storms and heatwaves in Europe, and sea level rises on the east coast of the US,” he said.
GentlemanBill over 3 years ago
Anthropogenic climate change is not proven… Climate change due to fluctuations in the Earth’s axis tilt, solar output, etc. are something we can’t change. We can however, plan for the contingency.
chroniclecmx over 3 years ago
Didn’t they just have an entire week of jokes about a white out blizzard?
KEA over 3 years ago
Around here the worst winter storms have occurred in March… just when you thought it was safe to go out without mittens.
FassEddie over 3 years ago
Mittens! Oh, no! Is Mittens lost again? I call dibs on her slice of pie!
Cedar the squirrel over 3 years ago
First time I read this I thought mittens was a pet
Hydrohead over 3 years ago
Hammy can get texts from Mittens right over here → https://www.gocomics.com/texts-from-mittens/2021/02/28?ct=v&cti=112282