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The system of ocean currents responsible for maintaining temperate weather worldwide could collapse. Experts say the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could fail within 50 years. AMOC brings heat from the Caribbean to the northern Atlantic Ocean. Oceanographers say AMOC has been weakening for decades because of global warming. The northern Atlantic is the only region in the world that is cooling. Experts once believed there was a 10 per cent chance of AMOC crossing the tipping point this century. However, they now say there is a 50/50 possibility.
Meteorologists say the failure of AMOC would lead to "devastating and irreversible impacts which will affect the entire world for centuries to come". It would disrupt global weather and negatively affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Scientists predict that temperatures in the U.K. could become 15°C lower. Colder weather could "potentially threaten the viability of agriculture" in Europe. Furthermore, tropical monsoons could shift southwards, causing drought and famine. This will create huge numbers of climate refugees and escalate geopolitical tensions.
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