Critical ocean current has not declined in the last 60 years

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has not slowed down since the mid-20th century based on the North Atlantic air-sea heat fluxes over that time. This finding contrasts with studies that have estimated a decline in the AMOC, likely because previous studies rely on sea surface temperature measurements to understand how the AMOC has changed. However, sea surface temperature is not a reliable way to reconstruct the AMOC, according to the authors. Although the AMOC has not declined yet, scientists agree that the Atlantic overturning will slow in the future — but whether the system can collapse entirely and when this collapse would happen is still up for debate. Such a scenario would have catastrophic consequences globally.