We can rescue the AMOC after its collapse – but it won’t be easy
An AMOC weakened by climate change can be revived by cooling global temperatures, but we don't have the technology to remove huge quantities of CO2 and drive that cooling
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) – a vital ocean current sustaining Europe's temperate climate – could collapse catastrophically, bringing "ice age" winters to Europe and disrupting essential monsoons in Africa and Asia. However, new research suggests that such a collapse might not be irreversible. Simulating a gradual global temperature increase of 0.2°C per decade, Danish Meteorological Institute researcher Chuncheng Guo found that while the AMOC would weaken significantly, it could recover its strength if global cooling occurred.
To achieve cooling at a rate of 0.2°C per decade, global carbon dioxide removal would need to increase from the current 2 million tonnes per year to an astonishing 45 petagrams per year—equivalent to 100% of current total annual emissions. While this level of carbon removal is beyond today's technology capabilities, the research underscores the urgency of preparing for the AMOC's potential collapse, as restarting it after a collapse could plunge Europe into further chaos, exposing it to accelerated warming after a period of dramatic cooling.
Written by urgent.news from New Scientist's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
