Well, "The Day After Tomorrow" may be Hollywood, but there is enough evidence gathering now that the Gulfstream is slowing down (well, how could it not, since its engine operates on the basis of temperature and salinity of ocean waters in the Northern Atlantic).
Two separate articles (shamefully for me, both about 2 - or more - years old) point out details:
Slowing Gulfstream - Peter Wadhams
Slowing Gulfstream - from Nature article
The current may not stop altogether, but in some of the scenarios proposed it could veer southwards. In either case, it will mean a significant temperature drop for Western Europe, easily ranging from 2-7C degrees and happening from as late as this mid-century to as early as the next decade.
True, it does seem that we will have enough warning to build our igloos in time, or at least vacate New York in a decent manner.
As always - do not take my word (or theirs) for this - go do your own reading (or research, if you have time) and verify. And look up some counter studies and arguments (unlike me) to bolster your critical thinking on the subject.
One can go back and dig out other alarming discoveries (from even earlier years) pointing out that sudden climate shifts, though not permanent, can take place in very short timespans.
But overall, it does not seem to be a question of IF, again, but of WHEN - and then HOW do we prepare.
Otherwise it might just be best to enjoy our lives as they are, oblivious to the utter fragility of the web that holds us. Carpe diem!
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