Ireland's weather could take Arctic turn with up to 15C dip, scientists believe

Parts of Ireland could be under 70cm of water while the country will be covered with Arctic ice in future winters if a new scientific warning about the collapse of a crucial ocean current is correct.

Researchers have sounded the alarm in a scientific paper about the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, or Amoc. This system of currents shunts warm and cold water between the poles but is “on course” to reach a tipping point because of the increasing flow of fresh water from melting ice sheets. A change could cause radical shifts in the planet’s climate, with the Amazon rainforest seeing its dry and wet seasons flipped.

Ireland would be one of the most severely affected countries, according to René van Westen, a climate and