The Formation of Pangea Ultima: A Threat to Humanity and Living Organisms

Tommy Patrio Sorongan, CNBC Indonesia

Wednesday, 09/27/2023 12:05 WIB

Photo: Illustration of the New Continent (Smith et al/Science)

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The formation of a “super continent” is said to be able to destroy humans and all living things. This was conveyed by scientists from the University of Bristol in England in their research quoted on Wednesday (27/9/2023).

The supercontinent in question refers to the joining of the world’s continents to form one new continent called Pangea Ultima, in about 250 million years. In simple terms, this is the configuration of all the continents in the world, Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Australia.

Experts say Pangea Ultima will be very hot and dry. It is believed the continent is nearly uninhabitable for humans and mammals that have not evolved to survive exposure to excessive heat.

“A newly emerging supercontinent would effectively create a triple whammy consisting of a continental effect, solar heating and more CO2 in the atmosphere,” senior research fellow at the University of Bristol and lead author of the paper, Alexander Farnsworth, said in the release. CNN International.

“Widespread temperatures of between 40 to 50 degrees Celsius and even greater daily temperature extremes, coupled with high humidity levels will ultimately determine our fate,” he added.

“Humans, along with many other species, would have died due to their inability to release heat through sweat, thereby cooling their bodies,” Farnsworth said.

The researchers also simulated temperature, wind, rain and humidity trends on the supercontinent. They used models of tectonic plate movement, ocean chemistry, and biology to calculate carbon dioxide levels.

They found that the formation of Pangea Ultima would lead to more regular volcanic eruptions. It also releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

“The sun will also become brighter, emitting more energy and warming the earth further,” the experts added in a report published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Although this is not certain, scientists predict the future of humanity looks “very bleak”. Where only around 8% to 16% of the land on the super continent is habitable.

“Carbon dioxide could reach double current levels even though the calculations are made on the assumption that humans now stop using fossil fuels,” explained a professor of evolutionary earth systems at the University of Leeds and co-author of the report, Benjamin Mills.

“Otherwise, we would have seen those numbers much sooner,” he added.

Therefore scientists urge to overcome the current climate crisis to overcome this “doomsday”. Human-caused climate change has resulted in millions of deaths worldwide every year.

“It is important not to forget the climate crisis we are facing today, which is the result of human-produced greenhouse gas emissions,” said study co-author Eunice Lo, a climate change and health researcher at the University of Bristol.

“Even though we estimate the planet will be uninhabitable in the next 250 million years, we are currently experiencing extreme heat that is detrimental to human health. This is why it is so important to reach net-zero emissions as soon as possible,” added Lo.

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