The scientific basis of the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” is centered around climate change.  The main character’s father works for the government and is trying to come up with a solution for global warming.  As temperatures around the world increase, global warming becomes so bad that the world overheats, which would ultimately lead to the death of everyone on the planet.  Water temperatures in the North Atlantic rise – as do salt levels – and there is talk about the circulation of certain ocean currents around the equator and the north.

For the purposes of the film, the speed of warming and cooling are increased dramatically, such as the steep decline in temperature being shown to take only a few days.  However, speeds of temperature changes as dramatic as shown in the movie would take much longer in real life.

It would be somewhat reasonable to worry about this scenario actually happening if humans were to continue doing things the way they currently are, though it is not likely for similar events to occur in this generation or the near future.