Temperatures could plumment across Europe, if the Gulf Stream goes, despite global warming on the rise.
Experts say it would lower rainfall amounts, and bring in even drier summers, which would cripple farming across the continent.
Earlier this month, Teresa Ribera, who’s in charge of the EU’s green policies, suggested that changes to the Gulf Stream should be treated as a national security issue, gowing to the severe impact of it shutting fown.
The study, which analyses 25 different models of the climate, found that even under a ‘moderate’ emissions chance, the collapse could start from 2063. This would need global heat to rise by around 2.7 degrees Celsius above levels recorded before the industrial revolution.
They already stand at 1.3 degrees.
Sybren Drijfhout, who heads up the earth and science section of the University of Southhampton told Politico that the study was “solid”.
They added: “As far as current models suggest, we conclude that the risk of a […] shutdown is greater than previously thought.”
“There’s a sense out there that climate change has taken a backseat because we’re so busy dealing with [other] pressing concerns,” he wrote to colleagues at the University.
“Progress takes time… it’s not linear,” he added, insisting that “there’ll be moments when attention wanes. So a big thanks to these scientists for giving us another serious climate wake-up call.”