It can be tempting to believe that we, as human beings, are the center of the universe.

The truth is that we’re little specks on a floating rock, and one day the Earth will go on without us.

That is, until the Sun explodes and subsumes our entire planet in the process.

Earth has existed for 4.5 billion years, and it has gone from a ball of molten magma into a few small tectonic plates, to  various formations of supercontinents and life galore.

That said, we’re only about a third of the way through the planet’s likely lifespan, which means there are plenty of changes waiting for us in the future.

Changes that we’re unlikely to survive as a species.

When supercomputers are used to movel the climate over the coming 250 million years, they posit the Earth will once again be dominated by a single supercontinent too hot to be habitable for any living mammal.

Senior Research Associate with the Cabot Institute for the Environment at the University of Bristol, Alexander Farnsworth, confirms.

“The outlook in the distant future appears very bleak. Carbon dioxide levels could be double current levels. With the Sun also anticipated to emit about 2.5 percent more radiation and the supercontinent being located primarily in the hot, humid tropics, much of the planet could be facing temperatures of between 104-158 degrees Fahrenheit.”

This is because the new supercontinent will create a “triple whammy,” causing the world to have to cope with around 50% more CO2 in the atmosphere, the sun would be hotter, and the continentality effect would come into play.

This is the fact that coastal areas are cooler and wetter than inland areas, and the reason why summer and winter temperatures are so much more extreme in some areas than others.

“The result is a mostly hostile environment devoid of food and water sources for mammals. Widespread temperatures of between 40 and 50 degrees Celsius, and even greater daily extremes, compounded by high levels of humidity would ultimately seal our fate. Humans – along with many other species – would expire due to their inability to shed this heat through sweat, cooling their bodies.”

And, explains Earth System Evolution professor Benjamin Mills, that’s a best case scenario.

“We think CO2 could rise from around 400 ppm today to more than 600 ppm many millions of years in the future. Of course, this assumes that humans will stop burning fossil fuels, otherwise we will see those numbers much, much sooner.”

That said, nothing will be gained from just chucking all efforts to help with climate change now.

“It is vitally important not to lose sight of our current Climate Crisis, which is a result of human emissions of greenhouse gases. We are already experiencing extreme heat that is detrimental to human health. This is why it is crucial to reach net-zero emissions as soon as possible.”

I’m not sure people will listen.

But if they don’t, the disasters will only come faster and closer together.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.