Will humans one day become extinct from the heat of global warming?

Question

Will the Earth one day become soo hot from global warming that life will become extinct?

Won't the oceans dry up from the heat?

And yes it is real and it is anissuye concerning everyone!

Answer 1

Nobody can give you a definite answer to this because, even with the best will in the world, no-one can predict what will happen in the future. Not so much in terms of global warming but more in terms of the planets self-regulating mechanisms.

Throughout Earth's long history the temperature has fluctuated, today the average global temp is approx 15°C, historically it's periodically fallen closer to 5°C and risen to as much as 35°C. When these extremes are reached a self-regulating mechanism has kicked in and consequently halted the warming or cooling.

In the far off future it's possible the world will warm once again to it's natural maximum. However, no-one knows the implication of human activities on Earth's inbuilt thermostat. Have we affected it like we've affected the climate or will it function as it has in the past?

Should it fail then the entire planet could become more like Venus, returning Earth to a state closer to that which existed prior to the first lifeforms appearing. This is the worst case scenario, it's highly unlikely, would be a LONG time in the future, requires significant natural variation and assumes humans do little to control climate change and have the ability to disrupt the self regulating processes. It's a lot of ifs and buts.

More realistically, temps will continue to rise. Best estimates put the figure at perhaps 3°C over the next 100 years - this means that the rate of climate change will keep accelerating. However, climate change is subject to the 'laws of diminishing returns' which means that it will start to slow down as it appraches it's peak. This peak is most liklely several thousand years away.

Should the world do something as radical as reaching an average global temp of 35°C this in itself won't be enough to cause a total extinction event. This temp won't be uniform across the planet, the regions closer to the poles will be significantly cooler and quite capable of supporting human habitations. What's more likely to happen if the world reaches these sorts of temps is a trigger mechanism converting massive amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into oxygen. Oxygen currently accounts for 21% of the atmosphere, if levels were to increase to 25% then there would be so much fuel for fires that they would be unstoppable and within a short space of time every forest on earth would burn up.

This is all speculation, it's based on what's happened in the distant past and could theoretically happen again, not for a long, long time yet though. It seems far more likely that human ingenuity will prevail and we'll come up with solutions to climate change long before such scenarios are played out.

Answer 2

No, you have nothing to worry about. Global warming doesn't mean the world is getting hotter, it means the temperature around the globe is becoming more consistent.

About 50 million years ago, before the current ice age (yes, we are technically in an ice age as there are persistent glaciers around the poles), when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, the CO2 levels in the atmosphere were 100's of times higher than today and oxygen made up over 30% of the atmosphere, the temperature at the poles was only about 25 degrees Celsius cooler than at the equator, while the temperature at the equator was only slightly warmer than it is today. The end result was more of the earth was inhabitable than it is today.

The downside to the climate then was there were no polar ice caps nor any glaciers (which, by itself, is really an upside), so the sea level was over 300 ft higher than it is today. If that were to happen again, a good amount of property would be underwater, but the amount of land gained by the warmer conditions would probably exceed the amount of land lost. The good news is a lot scientists believe that this extreme case probably can't happen today.

You should also take note that during the last interglacial period (a warmer period during an ice age, which is what we're in today), about 130,000 years ago, the world was warm enough that forests extended into the Arctic circle, in areas today that are vast frozen wastelands. The sea level then was only about 30 ft higher than it is today, which would cause some problems, but nothing man couldn't handle.

In any case, I really wouldn't worry, even if we continue to be reckless, we will certainly run out of fossil fuels long before we warm the earth enough to cause any life threatening sea level rise.

If there's any climate condition to be scared of, it's global cooling, because that's when things die.

Answer 3

Humans are fairly versatile and able to survive many different climates, such as extreme heat or coldness (ie: people living in the Sahara).

It has been observed that fluctuations in average temperatures have only increased by a couple degrees, assuming a constant growth rate, it would take a long time for the earth to heat to levels that would kill humans (assuming that we don't have technology, ie: air conditioning...if we have access to AC, then it is theoretically possible to survive regardless of the Earth's temperature).

It isn't necessarily the heat of global warming that would kill humans, you do need to consider the effects the increases in temperature would have on other forms of life and the earth itself. The obvious example would be the increased heat melting the poles, if (hypothetically) the poles melted, then it would obliterate a great deal of inhabitable land. Obviously, if we start losing large areas of land, and population keeps increasing exponentially, overpopulation would be a likely threat.

People worry about polar bears and seals because they are super cute, but it's not necessarily the extinction of polar bears that is a problem, it's the trickle-down effect that their extinction would have on other members of their ecosystem.

I could go on forever...we could talk philosophy about the value of penguins and polarbears...but in short, it's highly unlikely that the heat alone would kill humans. The more likely and tangable threat is the outbreak of disease. We're seeing all these crazy diseases emerging and causing serious damage. Since the flu virus mutates quickly, it's really only a matter of time before we see another "Black Death" scenario

Answer 4

Global warming is causing climate change, but it won't turn the world into a desert. I watch probably too many National Geographic shows and I think if the oceans rise, it could flood the Panama Canal zone. If this becomes permanent, the Gulf Stream will change it's circulation pattern to go through the canal zone, that coupled with the hurricanes that keep getting worse, will give a scenario like the show "Waterworld" only with storms.
Even then all the land masses will not be completely submerged, so we won't have to start living on ships.
Life will certainly be different though.
Most animals are not as adaptable as we, and they will suffer heavily from habitat loss.

Answer 5

I guess it would all depend on whether we individually agree with the present theories that say people are mortal and material or whether our bodies are really the evidence of what we think [that is spiritual] as I believe?
If we think that life can become extinct through whatever catastrophy then it will probably be true for those who think that way. I'm absolutely certain that life is ever-present and infinite and therefore continues even after we appear to have passed on to the physical senses?
I also think that the earth is a mental concept that is evolving just like our own thoughts are spiritualizing for the higher good of the whole - look at the history of mankind.
We can help this natural unfoldment of good by watching what thoughts we let into our consciousness and what reality we want to see - remembering that what you expect is what you get - because it's all thought.
Look deeper into Consciousness - you will find the answers for yourself if you desire to and don't listen to the popular theories and material sensualism of our time.

Answer 6

There is a finite amount of heat reaching earths surface, our orbital characteristics are such that water can exist in three states. There is no other orbital position within the solar system that supports this magical state. So regardless of how much greenhouse gases are put into the atmosphere there is only so much heat reaching the earth and there is a finite amount of heat leaving earth that greenhouse gasses can capture. While some scientists would lead you to believe that they have all of the suns energy partitioned and accounted for, they are wrong. Climate models cannot begin to simulate the massive amount of solar energy that is converted into kinetic energy in the form of wind and waves, so they cannot predict to an accurate enough degree how much energy is lost to convective processes.

It is unlikely that increasing greenhouse gases by a factor of 10 would boil the oceans away, unless the sun became much warmer, or our orbital position changed.
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Answer 7

NO

We will either have found a way to live on other planets before the earth becomes uninhabitable, or have found a way to sort it out.

The latest theory is to experiment with thousands of floating, wave driven, pumps in the Gulf of Mexico.

These are designed to bring up colder water, that is richer in nutrients, from the depths to the surface, this will increase the amount of plankton at the surface.

Plankton absorbs greenhouse gasses, and releases gasses that helf clouds to form. Both of these will slow down global warming

Answer 8

If what they state is correct, its not the heat that will cause massive death. It is the melting of the polar caps, increasing sea level and desalinating the ocean. Changing the ocean currents, severe flooding, all low areas becoming part of water covered mass. The oceans, moon, sun, and the earth's gravity all play a part in the weather. It wont be heat that causes distress, but the water and climate changes caused by it.EDIT: I am not a fanatic, but I read, watch and listen. I am being realistic about this. For example: Washington DC. sits 6 ft above sea level. The Potomac is a direct inlet to the ocean. So if sea level rises, DC floods. So for all the thumbs down on honest opinions and fact, look at what your saying before you answer.

Answer 9

NO! The warming will be a very few degrees. It just won't get noticeably hotter. It will be good for life in general, but some specialized species may have trouble. People may loose lots of money if sea levels rise enough from melting glaciers so that coastal cities flood, but there will be no loss of life.

Answer 10

Global warming affects humans because of the rising tempurature, the air polution by many different thing, the sea level that is rising, and many other things. we really need to help stop global warming.