New Delhi, June 19 -- The collapse of a key Atlantic Ocean current system could plunge winter temperatures across northern Europe to unprecedented lows, even in a world warmed by greenhouse gas emissions.

That was the conclusion of a major climate modelling study led by Dr Rene van Westen and colleagues at Utrecht University, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters on June 11, 2025. The research explored what could happen if the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) - a vital component of Earth's climate system - were to shut down entirely in the future.

The AMOC forms part of a larger network of ocean currents that transports warm surface water northwards from the tropics and returns cold, dense water southw...