As Nordic leaders assembled in Iceland, a group of experts warned of the much-underestimated danger of an Atlantic ocean current collapse that may have disastrous effects on the Nordic nations, reports RTE.
The scientists said they wanted to draw attention “to the serious risk of a major ocean circulation change in the Atlantic” in an open letter to the Nordic Council, which is gathering this week in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.
The Gulf Stream is one of the many intricate ocean currents that make up the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which transports heat from warmer areas northward and is consequently essential to Arctic living conditions, reports RTE.
The collapse of the system – which according to a recent study has already weakened – is one of the tipping points that concern scientists because of the cascading effects they could trigger.
But there is no consensus on when this is likely to happen.
The sixth assessment report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, expressed “medium confidence that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation will not collapse abruptly before 2100”, reports RTE.
However, the signatories of the open letter, argued that new research indicated that the risk had so far been “greatly underestimated,” and the “passing of this tipping point is a serious possibility already in the next few decades”.
One of the tipping points that worries experts is the system’s collapse, which a recent research found has already weakened, because of the potential cascade of impacts.
However, opinions on when this is most likely to occur are divided, reports RTE.
“Medium confidence that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation will not collapse abruptly before 2100” was stated in the sixth assessment report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Nonetheless, the open letter’s authors contended that recent studies showed the danger had been “greatly underestimated” up to this point and that “passing of this tipping point is a serious possibility already in the next few decades.”
It “would likely be catastrophic, including major cooling in the region while surrounding regions warm,” they warned of the effects on the Nordic nations.
They also stated that this would “potentially threaten the viability of agriculture in northwestern Europe” and “likely lead to unprecedented extreme weather,” reports RTE.
However, they stated that the effects will probably be felt all over the world due to potential changes in tropical rainfall belts and significant extra sea level rises.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to the two-day Nordic Council summit in Reykjavik, which is being attended by leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, reports RTE.
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