A key system of Atlantic Ocean currents may collapse anytime between 2025 and 2095, a new study found. Potential impacts include permanent drought in Western Africa and extreme winters in Western Europe. In 2019, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted the stream would collapse sometime after 2100. The effects of such a collapse could include permanent drought in Western Africa, extreme winters in Western Europe, and disruptions to monsoon patterns in India, South America, and Western Africa, CNN reported in 2021. The authors of the study included recommendations to mitigate the collapse of the system, including immediate moves to eliminate planet-warming pollution.

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Persons: Peter Ditlevsen —, —, Peter de Menocal Organizations: CNN, Service, United Nations, Oceanographic Institution Locations: Western Africa, Western Europe, India, South America