Gulf Stream/colder winters????

[Highlander]

The Gulf Stream is one of the strongest ocean currents in the world. It is driven by surface wind patterns and differences in water density, it starts way down in the Gulf of Mexico, as it travels north the surface water in the north Atlantic is cooled by winds from the Arctic. It becomes more salty and more dense and sinks to the ocean floor. The cold water then moves towards the equator where it will warm slowly,.. the Gulf Stream moves warm water from the Gulf of Mexico north into the Atlantic, and then heads for the west coast of Scotland, this is one reason we see a lot of palm trees in Scotland,..and our [UK] winters are quiet mild, western Europe also benefits a great deal

Recently, there has been evidence that the Gulf Stream is weakening and slowing and there is growing concern about what impacts such a change would have on the world’s climate. Some reports suggest that without the Gulf Stream, temperatures in England and northwestern Europe could drop by 4-6°C.

I think that most people will now be realising that our weather patterns are changing, the ice caps are melting at an hell of a rate,..so what happens if we lose the Gulf Stream?

The likes of Boston can have winter low temps of -17c, and they are a lot further south than we are,... if we take a straight line then the UK is on the same latitude as Alberta Canada,.. and they can get wind chill temps as low as -50

So is this something to be preparing for?, I have to admit that here on the west coast, we dont yet have bad winters, the Gulf Stream is still working for us, but over the last few years we have noticed that it is colder and we get more snow than we used to,.. even if its not as much as most would think

Inland Scotland is getting more snow than they did years ago, and inland temps are a lot lower,.. England/Wales have had their fair share of bad snow these last few winters too.

If we take the lowering temps no matter how little at the moment and add that factor to the fact that we are all getting older, then it could be something to be looking out for in the future, would you be thinking,.. `hell I am only 30yrs old I have other things to worry about`,... or would you think ahead, and try and do something to make colder winters more bearable for our ever increasing elderly bodies

I think that there is a TV program on this subject tonight [ 2nd July ] on BBC2 Horizon