A new study by scientists at the University of Bristol, published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience, warns of a mass extinction event coming from a slightly less predictable direction than the one humanity has been obsessed with for decades. We used ChatGPT to draw our conclusions.
The study in question delves into climate models calculated by supercomputers for the distant future, taking into account, among other things, temperatures, winds, rainfall and humidity. These models reveal a grave scenario in which extreme climatic scenarios will intensify, as the continents gradually merge into one hot, arid, and mostly uninhabitable supercontinent, about another 250 million years.
This alarming forecast is due to several factors: first, the sun is expected to brighten over time, emit more energy and thus warm the Earth more; Second, the tectonic processes responsible for creating the supercontinent will cause more frequent volcanic eruptions, releasing huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, further fueling global warming.
Mammals, including humans, have survived throughout history by adapting to extreme weather conditions by means such as fur or hibernation. But while adaptations have increased their ability to cope with colder temperatures than before, tolerance to extreme heat has remained relatively constant. Therefore, prolonged exposure to heat at levels expected by the study would be devastating for mammals.
Lead author Dr. Alexander Farnsworth argues that "common temperatures of between 40 and 50 degrees Celsius, and more extreme maximum and minimum temperatures, combined with high levels of humidity, will ultimately seal our fate. Humans – along with many other species – will become extinct due to their inability to cope with this heat through sweat that cools their bodies."
While this dire forecast speaks of the distant future, it is intended to raise alarm bells for human activity that is apparently affecting the rate of warming. Professor Benjamin Mills of the University of Leeds, who led the carbon dioxide calculations in this study, stressed that these predictions assume that humans will stop burning fossil fuels – "otherwise, we'll see these levels much, much sooner."
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