It took just 6 months for a warm and sunny Europe to be engulfed in ice, according to new research.

Preceding studies have suggested the arrival of the last Ice Age virtually 13,000 years ago took about a decade – but now scientists believe the process was up to 20 times as quickly.

In scenes reminiscent of the Hollywood blockbuster The day After Tomorrow, the Northern Hemisphere was frozen by a sudden slowdown of the Gulf Stream, which allowed ice to spread hundreds of miles southwards from the Arctic.

Geological sciences professor William Patterson, who led the research, stated: ‘It would have been extremely sudden for those alive at the time. It would be the equivalent of taking Britain and moving it to the Arctic over the space of a few months.’

Professor Patterson’s findings emerged from one of the most painstaking studies of climate changes ever attempted and reinforce the theory that the earth’s climate is  unstable and can switch between warm and cold amazingly quickly.

Sources and more information:

• Last Ice Age took just SIX months to arrive

It took just six months for a warm and sunny Europe to be engulfed in ice, according to new research. Previous studies have suggested the arrival of the last Ice Age nearly 13,000 years ago took about a decade – but now scientists believe the process was up to 20 times as fast. In scenes reminiscent of the Hollywood blockbuster The day After…