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Comment by chmod775 | Hacker News Reader

I suppose that energy still has to go somewhere. Which place will warm up if Europe and North America cool down?

I'm not a climate scientist but I'd reason that the tropics would experience greater heating resulting from the stagnation of the warm water that would previously circulate. More warm water in the tropics would result in more frequent and more intense hurricanes, so if the AMOC stops then we'll see even more extreme weather records smashed.

Obviously, the Atlantic Ocean closer to the equator.

Pretty sure Europe will heat up, NA will cool down. Currently the Atlantic current brings hot water from the equatorial zones up the US east coast, hence the humidity there. And it brings cool water down from the Arctic to Europe’s west coast, hence the mild non-humid climate there. Reversing the current would reverse that dynamic. It might make Europe less suitable to wine growing, for one, which requires mild cool climates.

The current wouldn't reverse, it would stop or become a lot slower. So cold water would stay in the artic regions and warm water closer to the equator.

I suppose you could compare this to one giant heat pump, circulating a heat source to Europe and North America that makes life livable.

As I understand it, the warmer the water, the stronger and more powerful the hurricane. So bigger and more hurricane in the mid-latitudes (Caribbean, southern US). Not a good prospect, at all.

Isn't it the opposite? I was under the impression that warm water from the Caribbean / equitorial zones was currently brought over to Western Europe and the UK.

If the AMOC collapses, that heat will presumably stay in the tropics, and North Western Europe will cool.

> I was under the impression that warm water from the Caribbean / equitorial zones was currently brought over to Western Europe and the UK.

It does after it's gone north along the US East coast yes, then it crosses over to Europe, but it's obviously not as hot anymore having dumped some of its heat into the US and the North Atlantic.

There's no current that goes directly from the equatorial regions straight up to the west coast of Europe.

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