A crucial system of ocean currents may be on course to collapse. This country just declared it a national security threat

The Vatnajokull glaciers about 200 km south of the capital Reykjavík, Iceland on February 23, 2025. Evrim Aydin/Anadolu/Getty Images

Iceland’s relatively mild climate is shaped by a crucial network of currents that winds its away around the Atlantic Ocean transporting heat northward — without it, the island would be much icier and stormier. As evidence mounts these currents could be on course for collapse , Iceland’s government has made the unusual move of designating the risk a national security threat, prompting a a high-level response into how to prepare for this “existential threat.”

“Our climate, economy and security are deeply tied to the stability of the ocean currents around us,” said Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson, Iceland’s Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate.

The Atlanti