AMOC: Could the ocean system collapse?

海洋系统可能会崩溃吗?

What in the World

2026-08-04

11 分钟
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Disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow showed the world hit by extreme weather events caused by disruption to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Today, even though the events of the film are highly unlikely to happen, scientists are concerned by changes to the AMOC. The AMOC is a massive north-south system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean that carries warm surface water towards the Arctic and returns colder water thousands of miles south through the deep ocean. It impacts weather patterns across the world from north-west Europe, to west Africa and all the way to India. However, scientists are worried that climate change is weakening the system which could lead to dramatic changes in weather around the world. BBC Weather presenter Sarah Keith-Lucas explains what the AMOC is, what exactly scientists are worried about and what the potential impacts could be if the AMOC is weakened or collapses entirely. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: William Lee Adams Producers: Adam Chowdhury Video Producer: Adam Chowdhury Editors: Emily Horler & Verity Wilde
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  • So there is this massive climate system in the Atlantic Ocean that moves warm water north and pushes cold water south.

  • It's called AMOC.

  • That's the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.

  • That's a mouthful, but the concept is pretty simple.

  • It's essentially a series of ocean currents that act like a giant conveyor belt,