Researchers asked a supercomputer how long humans will survive on Earth — it gave a chilling answer
As years of unchecked carbon emissions fill the Earth’s atmosphere, the adversity of the climate crisis only worsens. Doomsday for humanity is lurking near the horizon, scientists have figured. Even computers are not on our side when it comes to the reassurance of a brighter future for the thriving species that are humans in this period of existence. We have the greatest technology to explore the cosmos, health interventions dramatically extending life span, and the ability to convert anything, living or inanimate, into resources. Yet, to stop the inevitable humans will need something greater– conscience. Scientists have found an estimate of how long humanity will survive on Earth using supercomputer analysis in a study published in the journal Nature.
In 250 million years, Earth will turn into an inhospitable planet with extreme temperatures that will not only threaten the survival of mammals but also drive mass extinction due to scarcity of water resources. Researchers at the University of Bristol have predicted that a new supercontinent called Pangea Ultima will be morphed out of the current continental distribution amid rising global temperatures. Moreover, the sun is projected to emit 2.5% more energy than today, further toppling the chances of life thriving on the planet.
In the study backed by computation simulations, the experts fear prolonged exposure to high temperatures will push life on Earth to the edge. A 2.7-degree peak warming is expected to occur by 2100 as indicated in the ‘2024 State of the Climate Report: Perilous times on Planet Earth’ report published in Bioscience. “The newly-emerged supercontinent would effectively create a triple whammy, comprising the continentality effect, hotter Sun, and more CO2 in the atmosphere, of increasing heat for much of the planet. The result is a mostly hostile environment devoid of food and water sources for mammals,” explained lead author Dr. Alexander Farnsworth, a Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol, per an Indy100 report.
Therefore, natural causes coupled with greenhouse emissions from human activities will trigger a runaway greenhouse effect, which is essentially a climate change scenario where the atmosphere traps heat resulting in increased temperatures intolerable for life. According to a report by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Rochester, during this runaway greenhouse effect, the oceans would begin to simmer with the rising temperatures reaching the boiling point of water. What unfolds next you can imagine. Meanwhile, the formation of the new supercontinent will bring about global changes making it difficult for life to sustain on Earth.
According to IFL Science, the formation and breaking down of supercontinents unleashes natural cycles of heating and cooling that fluctuate levels of particle pressure of carbon dioxide, called PCO2. With increased temperatures, the Earth will step over a tipping point, a point of concern, even though it is millions of years in the future. If you do not have faith in theory, a mere glance at the current state of the environment is solid evidence of the fact that the only inhabitable planet by humans is on the brink of destruction. Shifting weather patterns, rising sea levels, heat waves, and diminishing green cover are only some of the climate changes we have witnessed in the past few decades. What lies ahead is something to ponder on.