03-16-2024, 05:25 PM
(03-15-2024, 04:59 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: As for climate change risk, yeah, the Dutch have a few serious threats...the rising sea levels are definitely one, but that's something they know how to deal with. IMO the much bigger threat is the cessation of the AMOC...which could transform our climate from balmy and rainy to the frozen tundra of Northern Ontario. It would be absolutely devastating, agriculture is like our biggest export. I really don't think there's any preparing for that...or that such preparations are even possible.
Indeed, the impact of the end--or reversal--of AMOC (Atlantic Mid-Ocean Current, including the Gulf Stream) would be massive in Europe. Some scientists are predicting this is imminent but the consensus seems to be that it's not likely in the short term. No one really knows for sure whether this will happen, though, or exactly how severe the consequences would be. The Netherlands and the UK would be some of the worst-hit countries, though.