WASHINGTON POST • July 25, 2023
The Atlantic Ocean’s sensitive circulation system, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, has become slower and less resilient, according to a new analysis of 150 years of temperature data – raising the possibility that this crucial element of the climate system could collapse within the next few decades. The study suggests that continued warming will push the AMOC over its “tipping point” around the middle of this century. The shift would be abrupt and irreversible, and it could lead to dramatic changes in weather on either side of the Atlantic. The new analysis is at odds with the most recent report from the United Nations, which drew on multiple climate models and concluded with 'medium confidence' that the Atlantic's circulation system will not fully collapse this century.