Ever wondered about the ultimate fate of humanity, considering the certainty of Earth’s demise when the Sun engulfs it in about 7.5 billion years? But before that cosmic event, just how long can humans dodge the bullet of extinction?
Amidst threats like nuclear war, it’s climate change that poses a colossal, long-term threat to our planet’s future and our survival on it.
But really, how long do we actually have before climate change wipes us out completely?
Curious minds can take heart: a supercomputer crunched a ton of data on Earth’s climate, tectonics, oceans, and biology to find out the expiration date for humanity’s lease on Earth.
According to the University of Bristol’s brainiacs, it’s still quite a while before things get really dicey.
Earth will transform drastically thanks to shifting tectonic plates, eventually forming a mega continent dubbed Pangea Ultima.
Dr. Alexander Farnsworth explained, “This emerging supercontinent would bring a severe increase in heat due to a combination of intensified continentality, a hotter sun, and heightened CO2 levels in the atmosphere.”
“This would create a brutal environment without adequate food and water supplies for mammals, with average temperatures soaring between 40 to 50 degrees Celsius, and even higher extremes, along with increased humidity, eventually leading to widespread extinction,” he added.
With only eight to 16 percent of the land remaining habitable for mammals, survival would become a strenuous struggle against new climate extremes and frequent volcanic eruptions, not to mention a much fiercer sun.
However, breathe easy—this apocalyptic scenario is projected to unfold in 250 million years!
Despite the distant forecast, researchers stress this should serve as an urgent wake-up call to tackle today’s climate issues.
Dr. Eunice Lo remarked, “Our current Climate Crisis, driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases, is already causing extreme heat harmful to human health. It’s imperative we achieve net-zero emissions swiftly to mitigate these impacts.”
So, while the doomsday clock ticks slowly, the message is clear: the time to act on climate change is now!