A catastrophic climate event is upon us. Here is why you’ve heard so little about it | George Monbiot
> The news is that the state of a crucial oceanic circulation system [has been reassessed by scientists](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adk1189). Some now believe that, as a result of climate breakdown changing the temperature and salinity of seawater, it is more likely than not to collapse. This system – known as the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (Amoc) – delivers heat from the tropics to the North Atlantic.
> Even when the countervailing effects of generalised global heating are taken into account, a [further paper](https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL114611) proposes, the net impact in northern Europe would be periods of extreme cold – including events in which temperatures in London fall to -19C, in Edinburgh to -30C and in Oslo to -48C.
> A billionaire death cult has its fingers around humanity’s throat. It both causes and downplays our existential crisis. The oligarchs are not just a class enemy but, as they have always been, a societal enemy: a few thousand people can destroy civilisations. It’s the billions v the billionaires, and the stakes could not possibly be higher.
> Even when the countervailing effects of generalised global heating are taken into account, a [further paper](https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL114611) proposes, the net impact in northern Europe would be periods of extreme cold – including events in which temperatures in London fall to -19C, in Edinburgh to -30C and in Oslo to -48C.
> A billionaire death cult has its fingers around humanity’s throat. It both causes and downplays our existential crisis. The oligarchs are not just a class enemy but, as they have always been, a societal enemy: a few thousand people can destroy civilisations. It’s the billions v the billionaires, and the stakes could not possibly be higher.