Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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PIK Department Head Stefan Rahmstorf explains how climate change is putting the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) at risk, and what this could mean for Europe and the world.

The AMOC transports warm water from the tropics northward, contributing to Europe’s mild climate – while carrying around 50 times more energy than humanity consumes.

Today, the circulation is weaker than at any point in the past thousand years.

In the video, Stefan Rahmstorf explains the complex dynamics of the AMOC – and what we can do to prevent further weakening.

0:00 How the AMOC regulates climate
1:42 Historical context and human impact
2:19 Data showing current AMOC slowdown
3:43 The tipping point
5:56 Consequences of AMOC collapse
6:43 Shifting probability estimates
7:52 The Paris Agreement and risk reduction


Video by Ariane Doehring

Image
Shutterstock
Nasa
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Greg Shirah/NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio
National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
The National Oceanography Centre and the Trustees of the Natural History Museum with acknowledgement to the NERC SMARTEX project
NOAA Ocean Exploration, Voyage to the Ridge 2022
NOAA SOS

Drone operator
Mirko Schneider

Animations
SimplePlus
Globaia
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Sound
Shutterstock
Everything Feels New by Evgeny Bardyuzha from Pixabay