Melting glaciers can stop the Gulf Stream current system, which brings heat to the Northern Hemisphere, writes the British publication The Daily Mail, citing a study by scientists.

It is expected that stopping the Gulf Stream will lead to a drop in the average annual temperature in North America, as well as several regions of Asia and Europe, by several degrees at once, which will lead to serious consequences throughout the world. A computer simulation carried out by scientists showed that this moment may be a matter of the near future.

“We are approaching a collapse, but we are not yet sure how close it is. This will be a tipping point,” said climatologist and oceanographer René van Westen of Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Previously, scientists from the University of Copenhagen warned that a stop of warm currents in the Atlantic Ocean could happen “at any time, starting from 2025.” At the same time, Europe, the researchers warn, will plunge into “ice collapse,” while in Africa, the Caribbean and a number of South American countries, average annual temperatures will “increase sharply.”

The Gulf Stream is part of a vast system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean that plays a key role in shaping Earth’s climate. They transport heated water from the tropics north in the upper ocean, then it releases heat in the North Atlantic, cools and returns to greater depths.