Why melting ice in the Arctic could cause temperatures in Britain to plummet - 6th Apr 2011

A massive pool of melted ice water in the Arctic Ocean is threatening to spill into the Atlantic and potentially alter the key ocean currents that give Britain its moderate climate, scientists have warned.

The average temperature in Britain could possibly fall by several degrees as a result, it is claimed.

Oceanographers yesterday said that the unusual accumulation has been caused by Siberian and Canadian rivers dumping more water into the Arctic and from melting sea ice.

Both are consequences of global warming, they pointed out.

If the meltwater flushes into the Atlantic, the infusion of fresh water could, in the worst case, change the ocean current that brings warmth from the tropics to European shores, said Laura De Steur of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.

German researcher Benjamin Rabe, of the Alfred Wegener Institute, said the Arctic's fresh water content had increased 20 per cent since the 1990s - or about 8,400 cubic kilometres.

That is the equivalent of double the volume of water in Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake. Read More