The film depicts a sci-fi story that the earth, represented by the United States, suddenly cooled sharply in one day and entered the ice age. In the story, climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) points out that global warming caused by the greenhouse effect will bring unprecedented disasters to the earth after observing the prehistoric climate research. Dr. Jack warned government officials to take preventive measures, but it was obviously too late. Dr. Jack Hall then urgently informed the Vice President of the United States that the American people south of 30 degrees north latitude should be evacuated to the equator as soon as possible, and the people north of the line should try their best to keep warm.

At this moment, Dr. Hall learned that his son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal) had gone to new york alone to rescue his girlfriend, so he decided to venture to new york to launch a rescue operation in the ice and snow. At this time, the disaster began in new york, and Manhattan skyscrapers were hit by a strong cyclone, and most of them were destroyed. Suddenly, the subway tunnel was flooded by the raging flood. The flood swallowed new york, flooded the United States, and Europe ceased to exist under the flood. Since then, ice and snow have covered the whole earth's surface, and the ice age has begun.