] When the Gulf Stream abruptly turned off about 12,700 ] years ago, it brought about a 1,300-year cold period, ] known as the Younger Dryas. This froze Britain in ] continuous permafrost, drove summer temperatures down to ] 10C and winter ones to -20C, and brought icebergs as far ] south as Portugal. Europe could not sustain anything like ] its present population. Droughts struck across the globe, ] including in Asia, Africa and the American west, as the ] disruption of the Gulf Stream affected currents ] worldwide. ] ] ] Some scientists say that this is the "worst-case ] scenario" and that the cooling may be less dramatic, with ] the world's climate "flickering" between colder and ] warmer states for several decades. But they add that, in ] practice, this would be almost as catastrophic for ] agriculture and civilisation. awesome. remind me to buy a few more bottles of scotch before scotland freezes solid... so i can have a nice drink when the entire global ecosystem freaks out. bottoms up! Britain is likely to be plunged into an ice age |