FOR years it has been the general perception that more pollution and global warming could transform the South's climate into that of the sun-kissed costas of the Mediterranean.

And the storms which have battered the region over the last few days have been highlighted as a prime example of how our weather patterns are being turned upside down by the greenhouse effect.

But today one Southampton climate expert claims that instead of soaring heat and conditions more suited to wine production, residents of the South Coast may be plunged into a new Ice Age.

Dr Toby Tyrrell, of Southamp-ton's Oceanography Centre, believes the greenhouse effect could bring an abrupt halt to the Gulf Stream, which brings warm weather to Europe every summer.

He said: "Every year the cold waters around Iceland, Greenland and Norway sink to the bottom of the ocean, dragging hot water from the Gulf of Mexico.

"The Gulf Stream brings an incredible amount of heat to Western Europe - equivalent to thousands of power stations working flat out.

"The fear is that if the waters around Iceland warm slightly, this system will cease to operate.

"That could leave Britain with a pretty horrendous climate - similar to parts of Canada."

Now the British and Norwegian governments are in talks about launching a joint research project into the theory.

Dr Tyrrell said it was very difficult to predict climatic changes because scientists still did not know exactly how the earth's climate system worked.

He added: "We believe that temperature increases will bring more extreme changes in the weather.

"The theory is that hotter temperatures are a measure of how much energy is around.

"So not only will we see an average increase in temperature, we will see more of the kind of storms we have witnessed recently."

Meanwhile, another Southamp-ton University scientist is involved in research which suggests that the sun may be partly to blame for the increases in global temperature.

Professor Henry Rishbeth said: "Research that has been carried out here which suggests that half of the global warming we have measured is probably down to changes on the sun, which we can't do anything about."

The Met Office has forecast showers for today with heavier bursts of rain on the way tonight, which would continue into tomorrow.

A spokesman said rain would be the problem rather than high winds.