Recently, large numbers of protesters have been arrested under the Government’s terrorism legislation for simply holding a sign. Meanwhile, another group of protesters were not arrested, even though they brought a massive bomb to the headquarters of the BBC, ITV and the Metropolitan Police! Of course, the bomb was fake, but it illustrated very well the threat we face from the collapse of AMOC.
So what is AMOC? It’s the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which brings warm water from the Gulf Stream to the UK and Scandinavia. AMOC is a system of ocean currents within the Atlantic. The circulation process begins as warm water near the surface moves toward the poles, where it cools and forms sea ice. As this ice forms, salt is left behind in the ocean water. Due to the large amount of salt in the water, it becomes denser, sinks down, and is carried southwards in the depths below. Eventually, the water gets pulled back up towards the surface and warms up in a process called upwelling, completing the cycle that takes about 1000 years. Scientists fear that AMOC could collapse due to ice melting and diluting the saltiness.
The new website, launched by campaigner Jonathan Fuller, which this article is largely based on, explains
“In November 2024, the National Preparedness Commission (an independent body whose role is to help the UK be significantly better prepared to avoid, mitigate, respond to, and recover from major shocks, threats and challenges) published a report on AMOC collapse that warned: “temperatures would drop across the Atlantic region, including by over 5 °C in Britain. Colder, drier conditions would largely wipe out crop growing in the British Isles.” It now appears likely that the AMOC will collapse, which will dramatically reduce agricultural production globally, so the UK will be unable to import food. The reduction in UK agricultural production, coupled with an end to food imports, suggests our food supplies will be reduced by around 90%”.
The implications for cities like Sheffield are dire as we grow very little of our own food.
On 18 August 2025, citizens and scientists protested outside the Metropolitan Police HQ, BBC Broadcasting House and ITN HQ. We face an unprecedented national security threat, which is not being addressed by those responsible for protecting the people. To make matters worse, the dire warnings from scientists are being largely ignored by the media, so our nation is not preparing.
It is possible AMOC could collapse in the 2030s, so we should be doing all in our power to prevent this, by reducing fossil fuel use as quickly as possible and ensuring other countries follow suit. But we should also be preparing for the worst-case scenario and planning for how the population would be fed if the AMOC collapse plunges us into an everlasting winter.
Most scientists believe it could be possible to avoid AMOC collapse, but that requires deep and immediate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. It is vital that the UK government demands much tougher action at the November COP30 climate negotiations in Brazil. But if the world does not agree to dynamic action to stop greenhouse gas emissions, then the UK must prepare for catastrophe.
In October 2024 a group of 44 expert scientists issued a warning to the Nordic Council of Ministers to alert them to this threat. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) had long warned there was just a 10% chance of AMOC collapse before 2100, but the scientists warned the probability was much higher.
Also, in October 2024 the Strategic Climate Risks Initiative published a particularly alarming report which said: “The collapse of the AMOC would profoundly destabilise national and global security. Collapse would effectively wipe out crop growing in the UK and combined with other effects of climate change, would cause catastrophic losses to key crops globally. The cascading consequences for health, economic stability, political cohesion, trade and geopolitics would be severe, creating unmanageable security outcomes.
In November 2024 the National Preparedness Commission published a report on AMOC collapse that warned: “temperatures would drop across the Atlantic region, including by over 5C in Britain. Colder, drier conditions would largely wipe out crop growing in the British Isles.”
From 30 June to 3 July 2025 Exeter University convened a meeting of nearly 200 scientists to consider the risks posed by the various planetary tipping points. The press release warned world leaders: “Particularly alarming is the risk of collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which would plunge northwest Europe into prolonged severe winters, while radically undermining global food and water security.”
In January 2025, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries published a report warning that 4 billion people could be killed at 3C of heating, and this could occur by the year 2050.
The website concludes that we now know the UK population is included in these 4 billion lives that are at risk. We must demand that politicians, business and the media help to prepare our nation for this unprecedented threat. We must never vote for a political party that would either slow the pace of decarbonising the economy or increase greenhouse gas emissions. Reform UK and the Conservative Party are currently opposed to the UK’s 2050 Net-Zero target, seeking to slow efforts to move away from fossil fuels. The Labour Party is currently supportive of expanding some polluting activities, including aviation, such as reopening Doncaster Airport. These policies are criminal offences under the International Criminal Court Act 2001 (ICCA) because they contribute to mass death, mass suffering and the beginning of the annihilation of low-lying island states.
We can no longer ignore the AMOC “bomb”.
See Jonathan Fuller talking about this on Facebook
Here’s what people have been saying about AMOC on Bluesky.
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