![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/16-008-NASA-2015RecordWarmGlobalYearSince1880-20160120-9534.png\")
\n\t\tThe \u2018cold blob\u2019 is also known as the \u2018warming hole (Picture: Nasa Scientific Visualization Studio\/Goddard Space Flight Center)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThe \u2018cold blob\u2019 is also known as the \u2018warming hole (Picture: Nasa Scientific Visualization Studio\/Goddard Space Flight Center)<\/p>\n
The science<\/a> of climate change<\/a> is complex, but the overall effect is pretty simple \u2013 the planet is getting warmer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Except, however, for a cool \u2018blob\u2019 just southeast of Greenland<\/a> that no one has ever been able to properly explain.<\/p>\n The blob, also called the \u2018warming hole\u2019, is a large patch of the North Atlantic<\/a> that has cooled by as much as 1\u00b0C over the last few decades.<\/p>\n Now scientists think they know what\u2019s behind the blob: the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a tangle of currents.<\/p>\n AMOC (pronounced: AY-mock) carries warm, salty surface waters from the tropics into the North Atlantic<\/a>, where they cool and sink into the ocean.<\/p>\n This oceanic conveyor belt has a massive influence on the weather<\/a> as the currents transfer heat around the planet, so any changes in it would have cascading effects for large parts of the planet.<\/p>\n \t\t And quite a big change is happening now, according to a study published in\u00a0Geophysical Research Letters<\/a>: AMOC is weakening. <\/p>\n AMOC\u2019s slowing isn\u2019t a discovery, but scientists have never been able to agree on why it\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n As Atlantic currents are powered by wind, salinity and heat, some suggest<\/a> that the blob is created by strong winds that could be forcing more evaporation, sucking heat from the ocean.<\/p>\n With more water in the air, more clouds are forming above, blocking out the sun above the oceans below Greenland. <\/p>\n But University of California Riverside climate scientist Wei Liu, who led the study, found that the cold blob is 1,000 metres deep, suggesting the ocean is the biggest factor.<\/p>\n \u2018People have been asking why this cold spot exists. We found the most likely answer is a weakening AMOC,\u2019 she said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Her team only had about 20 years of data to work with but managed to dive further back by looking over weather observations made by boats and satellites, called a climate reanalysis.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tFollow Metro on WhatsApp to be the first to get all the latest news\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t Metro\u2019s on Whatsapp! Join our community<\/a> for breaking news and juicy stories.<\/p>\n \t\t Her team found that heat loss from the ocean surface has decreased in the blob since 1955.<\/p>\n Stefan Rahmstorf<\/a>\u00a0at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, who was also involved in the study, said wind and clouds only explain a \u2018modest fraction of the warming hole\u2019.<\/p>\n What does AMOC weakening mean for us?<\/p>\n While the blob covers some of Greenland, the rest of it is still susceptible to global warming. As a result, cold water from the country\u2019s melting ice sheets is flowing down to the Atlantic.<\/p>\n All this chilly water sloshing around is diluting the tropical waters brought by one of AMOC\u2019s warm currents, the Gulf Stream, slowing it down.<\/p>\n When one part of the AMOC slows down, this could grind the system to a halt \u2013 scientists believe <\/a>that it will weaken by at least 20% by 2100, and possibly shut down altogether<\/a> over time.<\/p>\n For one, less tropical heat would make its way into the northern reaches of the Atlantic, making the UK and the Nordic countries colder, Jim NR Dale, a climate expert not involved in the study, told Metro.<\/p>\n Dale, a meteorologist with the British Weather Services, said AMOC is \u2018without a doubt\u2019 one of climate change\u2019s biggest \u2018tipping points\u2019, which would cause rapid and hard-to-reverse changes in the environment.<\/p>\n \u2018The result is the future potential for a disruption of the AMOC and life as we know it in northwest Europe: winters akin to Canada<\/a>, deep snow and frigid, long-lasting freezing temperatures,\u2019 Dale said.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018It\u2019s not happened as yet, but it is one of the major consequences of anthropogenic global warming.\u2019<\/p>\n By \u2018anthropogenic\u2019, Dale means the view widely accepted by scientists that climate change is the result of humans burning fossil fuels. <\/p>\n Outside of Europe, scientists predict the loss of AMOC could cause the sea level to rise rapidly in North America, while the Sahel in Africa and the monsoon regions of Asia would most likely get less rain.<\/p>\n Researchers admit that the data isn\u2019t conclusive, so alternative explanations<\/a> can\u2019t be ruled out.<\/p>\n AMOC might not even be weakening, with some suggesting that the system\u2019s Norwegian current may be strengthening and hoovering up heat.<\/p>\n Agreeing with the findings, Dale added that the cold blob has long \u2018stood out like a sore thumb\u2019 compared to the rest of the world. <\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s almost certainly caused by melting ice [freshwater] off the Greenland ice sheet, seeping into the ocean,\u2019 he said. <\/p>\n \u2018The colder temperatures create what is known as an Atmospheric Loop with less evaporation taking place at the surface; it simply gets colder still over time.\u2019<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/anomaly-e79f.jpg\")
\n\t\tUnlike most of the planet, this strange patch is getting colder (Picture: Kai-Yuan Li\/UCR)<\/p>\n![\"Apps](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1632181964-e1700130460337.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIf AMOC collapses, winters could become colder and longer, a climate expert warned (Picture: Getty Images Europe)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI300026825-943d.jpg\")
\n\t\tMeltwater from Greenland is diluting the tropical water, mucking up AMOC (Picture: Pedersen\/NurPhoto\/Shutte\u200brstock)<\/p>\n
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