Amid massive destruction worldwide due to extreme summers, rains, and winters, scientists have warned that the collapse of a crucial Atlantic Ocean current system can significantly amplify the impact of climate change on Earth’s weather patterns.

According to the latest research, the crucial Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) can collapse as early as 2030, CNN reported. AMOC is on a course of destruction as it is continuously weakened by warmer ocean temperatures and disrupted saltiness due to human-induced climate change. 

About Ocean currents

As the name suggests, ocean currents refer to the movement of water in a set direction in the ocean. The directional movement of ocean water is affected by gravity, wind, and water density. Ocean water moves in two directions: horizontally and vertically.

Ocean currents are also driven by saltiness and ocean temperature according to a process which is called as thermohaline circulation. One can assume that these currents are carried across ocean in a large “global conveyor belt”. AMOC is a part of that large conveyor belt.

What is AMOC?

The AMOC is responsible for the circulation of water from north to south and back. This pattern of circulation continues within the Atlantic Ocean. According to the National Ocean Service, the AMOC plays a crucial role in maintaining favourable weather patterns as it brings warmth to various parts of the globe and also carries nutrients important for the survival of ocean life. According to the CNN report, the collapse of AMOC would drastically transform weather and climate.

Impact of AMOC collapse on climate change and extreme weather 

According to research titled ‘Probability Estimates of a 21st Century AMOC Collapse’, the collapse time of AMOC is estimated between 2037 and 2064 with a mean of 2050.

Scientists are worried that the weather pattern is already changing drastically due to increased greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and melting of glaciers. On the top of that collapse of AMOC will make things worse.

“All the negative side effects of anthropogenic climate change, they will still continue to go on, like more heat waves, more droughts, more flooding. Then if you also have on top of that an AMOC collapse … the climate will become even more distorted,” CNN quoted René van Westen, a marine and atmospheric researcher at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and study co-author.