The Day After Tomorrow

3 Pages 710 Words

The Hollywood production The Day After Tomorrow is the story of an abrupt climate change, with extreme and catastrophic effects which will, in consequence, lead to the onset of a new ice age. As a result of global warming, polar ice caps melt, which disrupt the Gulf Stream (part of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation). The North Atlantic region cools while heat builds up in the tropics. The result is a severe storm, causing catastrophe and a dramatic change in the global climate. I think that this film is very helpful in the way that it raises awareness on the issue of global warming. However, there were many obvious scientific facts which have been manipulated in this film, such as; an abrupt climate change, temperatures plummeting to freezing in a matter of hours, a massive snowstorm, tornadoes striking Los Angeles and soccer ball-sized hail falling on Tokyo. I think that the probability of all this destruction occurring over the short time-span of a few weeks is ridiculous. These types of consequences of global warming are not expected to occur all of a sudden, but not for another century or so. They will occur gradually, and be less intense.
One fictitious aspect in the movie was when temperatures in New York City plunge from sizzling to freezing in hours. This factor has no real scientific structure and I think it is strictly used for increasing the dramatic effect of this movie. Although temperatures are descending as a result of global warming, they are not changing nearly as rapidly or dramatically as depicted in the movie. Over the last hundred years, global temperatures have only increased by almost 1 degree. In a warmer world, additional rain at middle and high latitudes, plus melt from glaciers, would add more fresh water to the oceans. This could affect important ocean currents, such as the Gulf Stream, that transport heat north from the equatorial regions and might result in parts of North America and Europe becoming re...