"Warning: Impending Collapse of Atlantic Ocean Current Threatens Catastrophic Climate Impacts"

The Atlantic Ocean's circulation, crucial for carrying heat from the tropics to the northern latitudes, has observably slowed over the past two decades, possibly to its weakest state in almost a millennium. Studies suggest that the circulation has reached a dangerous tipping point in the past and could hit that point again as the planet warms and glaciers and ice sheets melt. Fresh water from melting glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet can dilute the saltiness of the water, preventing it from sinking and weakening the ocean conveyor belt, potentially leading to an abrupt shutdown of the circulation within a century. This could result in average temperature drops in North America, parts of Asia and Europe, and severe and cascading consequences around the world.