Let me precis Hollywood's latest disaster movie. The Day After Tomorrow, in the best tradition of science fiction, is based on the possibility of rapid cooling of the gulf stream and associated currents which bathe the UK and parts of Europe in warm waters. For the gulf stream to maintain its equilibrium and the temperate climate of these shores, a comparable, deep, return current of cold, dense, water from the Nordic seas is necessary for the cycle to be completed. Evidence suggests this return current has been slowing since the last century. This deceleration in turn affects global currents. A breakdown in the circulation system of oceanic currents could lead to dramatic, global, climatic change.

Scientists widely accept that without the gulf stream, temperatures in the UK and north-west Europe would be 5ûC or so cooler, with harsh winters such as those in the little ice age in the 17th-19th centuries. Research also shows that ten thousand years ago, at the height of the last ice age, when most of Britain was reduced to a frozen wasteland, the gulf stream only had two-thirds of its present strength.

The film seizes the theory of oceanic circulatory failure and depicts an environmental catastrophe of mammoth proportions with tornadoes tearing through Los Angeles, snow in Delhi, hailstones in Japan and a colossal Tsunami that engulfs Manhattan. The climax of the film is a global storm, portrayed in full cinematic glory, heralding the next great ice age.

"Russian flood rescue team", "drought stricken Australia", "receding rivers in India", "European heatwave causes 35,000 deaths". No, these are not more examples of Hollywood's model of death and destruction, but just some of the news headlines of the past year. Why worry about tomorrow or even the day after, when we are woefully unequipped to cope with today. Search through media archives and there are many similar stories. Last January, a few hours of heavy snowfall and heavy winds left hundreds of motorists stranded overnight on the M11. In June, rail commuters in the southeast were subjected to long travel delays as 60mph speed limits were placed on trains because of "hot weather".

Then there is the issue of global conflicts such as the Iraq war, which many economists fear could have disastrous consequences for our day-to-day lives, with fuel prices spiralling so much that food deliveries and vital services are affected. Regardless of the accuracy of economists, as soon as temperatures rise to the mid-twenties, office workers swelter, shops sell out of fans and bottled water, as once again we are caught unaware by the vagaries of the weather. How could we possibly cope with significant climatic change when we cannot cope with temperature changes of a few degrees?

Why is it that the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine merely "recognises" cold weather affects the elderly and vulnerable and only "suggests" that "heat warnings" are given with weather forecasts? Why is it that schools and businesses do not open or close earlier in extreme weather? Why is our transport infrastructure unable to cope with today's weather? Why do we only "suggest" and think about solutions, shouldn't we worry less about the day after tomorrow and more about today?