Scientists have found that climate change may plunge Europe in a deep freeze, in a similar fashion to the 2004 eco-horror film 'The Day After Tomorrow', due to change in the Gulf Stream. As a current of warm water flows up the East Coast of North America and across the Atlantic to Europe , the Gulf Stream is a vital part of maintaining Europe’s temperatures. However, a study from the University College London has found that it may be affected by the climate , and that global warming could lead to its collapse, making temperatures in Europe drop by up to 15C.
Lead researcher Dr Jack Wharton said: "If in the future winds are weaker, as shown in a recent study using climate models, it could mean a weaker Gulf Stream and a cooler Europe." Dr Wharton and his team came to this conclusion upon studying the ice age, and the climate conditions at the time. 20,000 years ago, most of the Northern Hemisphere was covered in a thick ice cap.
However, scientists now believe that Europe may have been protected from this by the strong current of the Gulf Stream. He said: "We found that during the last ice age, the Gulf Stream was much stronger because of stronger winds across the subtropical North Atlantic. "As a result, the Gulf Stream was still moving lots of heat northwards, despite the rest of the planet being far colder.
" This has raised concerns for the future of the continent, as the evidence suggests the strength of the Gulf Stream depends on factors in the climate, which is current.
