No doubt you have been paying attention to it as well… Ireland is located at roughly the same latitude as Labrador, Canada, but generally has higher temperatures thanks to an ocean current that transports relatively warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to Northern Europe.
This is the Gulf Stream, one of the natural phenomena that most influences the Earth's climate. For over fifty years, climatologists have been studying its functioning to understand if and when global warming might block it, thereby disrupting the climate of much of the world. Now, research published in the journal Science Advances has added several relevant elements to what we know about the subject.
Climate change and the Gulf Stream are linked due to the melting of ice in Greenland and other Arctic territories, which is caused by rising average temperatures. The more the ice melts, the more freshwater ends up in the northern Atlantic Ocean. This alters the dynamics of ocean currents, which are regulated by differences in water temperature and salinity, and could do so to the point of blocking the Gulf Stream.
We still don't know when this might happen, but the new study confirms that the planet is approaching this situation. It states that there is a good chance the process of blocking the current could be triggered this century and that the associated risks have so far been underestimated.
Recent studies indicate that the outflow of cold water from the northern Atlantic has decreased by 20 percent since 1950, and northern waters have become progressively less saline. Unfortunately, these changes will not only affect Europe. Atlantic currents are just one part of a system that governs the climate across the entire planet; slowing them down or altering their course could lead to dramatic changes in North America as well.
It seems counterintuitive, but if the ongoing global warming hinders the currents by diluting their saline content, things could soon become very cold in those parts…