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UK and Europe could be plunged into new 'ice age' as 'tipping point' approaches

Scientists are warning of extreme and dramatic climate changes if a weakened ocean current collapses - potentially sending us hurtling into a new "little Ice Age"

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A new ice age could hit Europe(Image: Getty Images)

Britain and Europe could be plunged into a Little Ice Age over the climate crisis, experts fear.

They have warned a key ocean current in the North Atlantic Ocean is weakening and may collapse.

Scientists say the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre a system of rotating ocean currents south of Greenland has been in decline since the 1950s.

And it could spark a meltdown in Europe, which could cause sudden and dramatic climate changes.

Study author Dr Beatriz Arellano Nava, from the University of Exeter, called the findings highly worrying.

She said: Our results provide independent evidence that the North Atlantic has lost stability, suggesting that a tipping point could be approaching, although it remains uncertain when this threshold might be reached.

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This ice age wouldn't be as much fun as the film...(Image: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation)

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, said the North Atlantic has lost stability over recent decades and is vulnerable to crossing a tipping point.

The Gyre moves heat from the tropics to the North Atlantic, helping to regulate temperatures in Europe and North America.

But this movement slowing down could plunge Europe into a Little Ice Age, where rivers freeze over, crops are destroyed and average temperatures drop by around 2C.

Dr Nava, a lecturer in physical oceanography, said while the Gyre looks likely to weaken abruptly, it would not completely collapse as its also driven by winds.

Such a weakening would reduce the northward flow of heat carried by ocean currents, likely triggering a chain of climate changes including more frequent extreme weather events, stronger seasonal contrasts in Europe, and shifts in global rainfall patterns.

She added: Melting of polar ice due to climate change is certainly contributing to the weakening of ocean currents and pushing them closer to a tipping point, so rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the best way to prevent tipping points in the Atlantic Ocean.

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