{"id":72304,"date":"2026-04-27T18:37:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=72304"},"modified":"2026-04-27T18:38:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:08:05","slug":"atlantic-meridional-overturning-circulation-amoc-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/27-04-2026\/atlantic-meridional-overturning-circulation-amoc-3","title":{"rendered":"Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/Geography\/GS3\/Environment <\/strong><strong><\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recent research indicates that the <strong>Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is at its weakest<\/strong> in 1,600 years and is more likely to experience a severe shutdown or collapse than previously estimated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It\u00a0 is a <strong>large ocean current system<\/strong> in the Atlantic that moves warm water northward and cold, dense water southward in a continuous cycle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is a <strong>major part of the global ocean conveyor belt<\/strong> that distributes heat and nutrients across the world\u2019s oceans.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It transports warm surface water from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere, where it cools and sinks, before flowing back southward as a deep current.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>From the South Atlantic, this water spreads into other oceans through the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"cdd3d8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"711\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-157-1024x711.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-72305\" style=\"--dominant-color: #cdd3d8; aspect-ratio:1.4402443271626437;width:436px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-157-1024x711.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-157-300x208.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-157-768x533.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-157-1536x1067.png 1536w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-157.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reasons for Weakening<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Global Warming:<\/strong> Rising temperatures reduce density contrasts, slowing down sinking currents.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Freshwater Inflows<\/strong>: Melting of Greenland ice sheet and increased rainfall dilute salinity, weakening deep-water formation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Natural Variability vs Human Impact:<\/strong> Studies show weakening since the 1980s, with pauses due to natural oscillations, but anthropogenic drivers dominate long-term decline.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Deep Ocean Changes:<\/strong> Antarctic Bottom Water inflows have reduced by ~12% (2000\u20132020), warming the deep Atlantic and raising sea levels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Impacts of Weakening<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Regional Climate:<\/strong>North America &amp; Europe: Colder winters, disrupted rainfall.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Africa &amp; South Asia: Monsoon weakening, drought risks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sea-Level Rise:<\/strong> Slower circulation raises sea levels along the U.S. East Coast and globally.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Marine Ecosystems:<\/strong> Alters nutrient flows, threatening fisheries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Carbon Cycle: <\/strong>Reduced carbon uptake by oceans, worsening atmospheric CO\u2082 levels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Extreme Events: <\/strong>Greater risk of hurricanes and heatwaves due to altered ocean-atmosphere dynamics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Suggestions&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The AMOC is a key part of Earth\u2019s climate system that regulates temperature, rainfall, and ocean health.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Evidence shows it is weakening due to global warming and freshwater inflow, raising concerns about a possible collapse with severe global climate impacts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hence, urgent emission reduction, better monitoring, and international cooperation are needed to avoid a climate tipping point.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Source :TH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><br \/>\nIn News<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\nRecent research indicates that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is at its weakest in 1,600 years and is more likely to experience a severe shutdown or collapse than previously estimated.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/p>\n<p>Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"\t>\nIt\u00a0 is a large ocean current system in the Atlantic that moves warm water northward and cold, dense water southward in a continuous cycle.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\nIt is a major part of the global ocean conveyor belt that distributes heat and nutrients across the world\u2019s oceans.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/27-04-2026\/atlantic-meridional-overturning-circulation-amoc-3 \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72304"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72307,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72304\/revisions\/72307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}