The sky will be absolutely clear every day. The sun will hover over the horizon, stubbornly heating the Earth. The scenario only at first glance seems unreal, but this has already happened in the long history of the planet. About 55 million years ago, it warmed up so that crocodiles swam in the Arctic waters. The Antarctic ice cap has completely melted. Ocean levels have risen by several meters, flooding vast coastal areas. Many large mammals became extinct, and the survivors began to shrink in size due to lack of food. Hurricanes raged across the planet, droughts followed by sudden floods.
What was the cause of such a cataclysm? In an article published in the journal Nature Geoscience, American scientists call the culprit: a sharp jump in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The mathematical model warns: when the concentration exceeds 1200 ppm, the point of no return will come for the clouds. They will disappear, the Earth will become defenseless from the constant attack of the Sun, which will lead to a sharp warming of the ocean. And further along the chain: the average temperatures on the planet will rise by about 8 degrees, powerful natural disasters will break out, mass extinction of animals and plants.
This version immediately found opponents. They pointed out that the 1200 ppm milestone is almost three times the current CO2 concentration. So, don't panic. But the study's authors insist: look at how rapidly this concentration is growing. For some 60 years - an instant by historical standards - the gas level has risen by almost a third. At this rate, the point of no return will be passed in the next 100 years.
How inevitable is such a scenario? Today science cannot answer unequivocally why the concentration of carbon dioxide is increasing. Someone blames the person who pollutes the atmosphere with emissions, someone is convinced that nature works with its natural cycles. And they remind that "cloudless" life already existed, although there was no human being on the planet. The authors of the study believe that whatever the reason for the phenomenon, this time mankind will be able to save the clouds. Science will find a way to avoid a catastrophic scenario.
By the way
Growth in recent decades, the rise in average temperature on Earth is uneven. For example, in the Arctic, it is twice as fast as on the rest of the planet. How will this affect the climate in other regions? A study by American and Belgian scientists showed that the warming that took place 11-8 thousand years ago in the Arctic region created the preconditions for drought in the middle latitudes.
Andrey Merkulov
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