Scientists sound alarm about terrifying ocean event that could bring global devastation
Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. New research from the University of New South Wales is warning that the impact of that water could make critical ocean circulation waker much sooner than projected Reacting to these findings, Dr. Stefan Rahmstorf – who has been studying the AMOC for years – says that the world must expect a faster decline than the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted in annual assessments. “‘It is very likely that the AMOC will weaken faster than CMIP6 projections if meltwater forcing is considered.’ That’s bad news; it increases the risk of passing the AMOC tipping point,” he wrote in a thread on X. Rahmstorf, who is a professor of physics of the oceans and head of earth system analysis at Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told The Independent that the biggest uncertainty is knowing how far away the planet is from that tipping point. “I think we definitely want to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Liu said in a separate interview, noting that the world would still feel the effects of previous carbon dioxide emissions. Rahmstorf also said global warming up to 3.1 degrees would be “catastrophic” and would “increasingly endanger the AMOC.” “You know, I try to take this professionally,” he said of climate impacts.
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