For humans, one million years can feel like an extraordinarily long length of time.
For a 4.5-billion-year-old planet like Earth, however, it’s not all that long at all. But,
still, if we gaze that far into the future, a lot can happen between now and then… and Earth could
become a very different place. Assuming that it isn’t totally ruined by us before we get there.
This is Unveiled and today we’re asking the extraordinary question;
What will Earth look like in one million years (if humans don’t destroy it first)?
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If we’re looking down at Earth from space, then one million years probably isn’t enough to
drastically alter it in a natural way. Continental drift will eventually change the positioning of
the landmasses, sure, and there’s the potential for the world’s continents as we know them to
form another Pangea in the future. But really, that kind of full-scale geological shakeup
will take a much longer time to unfold, and something closer to 250 million years in total.
So, there are limits to keep in mind for the question. But,
if we look at Earth as it was one million years in the past, we can see the incredible scope for
change that is still possible. On the surface, Earth was a very different place, back then.
Our planet was in the midst of an ice age, and subjected to low temperatures.
As such, there were many animals that were suited to that particular environment…
but are now extinct. Woolly mammoths, mastodons, and giant sloths were some of the creatures taking
their place in the circle of life during this time period. Of course, early humans were around, too…
but we were still at the stage of trying to master fire and predominantly living in caves. And,
while the continents were largely the same as we see today, the world map was slightly different.
The water levels at the time were likely low enough to expose land bridges between continents,
for example, such as the Bering Strait which it’s thought once connected North America to Asia.
There were also no great lakes as of yet, as a giant sheet of ice covered what’s now the United
States and Canada, instead. Naturally, without human civilization carving out its existence,
there were no buildings, cars, lights, no technology of any kind beyond simple tools.
So, what can we draw from this ancient picture when thinking about the future of Earth?
In many ways the future is impossible to predict. But we do expect the landmasses
to continue to change slightly. We also expect global temperatures to rise and fall,
resulting in more ice ages and more comparatively warmer periods. We might also predict an increase
in humankind’s technological prowess in line with what we’ve achieved in the last one million years…
which means making another jump that’s comparable to that between the ancient stone implements of
the past and the modern, inter-connected, wireless, superfast devices of today.
That constant race to better our technology might be best seen in us, ourselves. In a million years’
time, it could be that humans are unrecognisable compared to what we are at present. It’s long been
debated where our pursuit for longer lives and stronger, healthier bodies could lead, with some
forecasts seeing future beings that are more robot than human. But that move toward an artificial
world will no doubt shape everything around us, as well. The futurist Michio Kaku has predicted
that by this time, humanity may have become a Type Three civilization on the Kardashev Scale.
This means that we’ll have harnessed all of the energy from Earth a long time ago,
and learned how to use it efficiently. We’ll also have captured all the energy from the solar
system, and we’ll have moved on to all the energy from the Milky Way, too. Amongst other things,
we’ll be travelling freely between galaxies, charged by the power of endless suns.
And we’ll be living on many different planets. So, what of Earth? It doesn’t need to have been
destroyed to have been abandoned, and if humans are still alive in one million years - which is
a very big if - then one distinct possibility is that we’ll have moved onto pastures new. Perhaps
there will still be a presence on Earth, but we’d no longer be confined to just this world.
One hope is that we’ll have a better grasp of how human action can affect the climate - both
with Earth and with any other worlds we may have settled down on. Given that one theory
holds that the scorching, hellish wasteland of Venus was once an Earth-like planet,
we can see how things can change with enough time. With one million years and assuming the worst,
perhaps all of Earth’s land ice will have melted, sea levels will have risen by hundreds of feet,
temperatures will have drastically shifted, and what’s left of various cities all around
the world will have disappeared beneath the waves. Violent and unpredictable storms might
erupt unchecked and, if the situation were to get hot and dry enough, fires could rage.
Regardless of the general direction that the conditions of Earth might move in,
however - and there are some scenarios where what actually happens is a return to greenery,
with lush forests reclaiming the land - there are various, specific aesthetic changes that Earth is
set to go through in the next one million years. A few examples include that the state of Hawaii is
set to have another island join its ranks, Lo’ihi, as a submarine volcano is scheduled to rise
up out of the water within the next 250,000 years. There’s an epic chapter set to end further north,
though, as it’s predicted that in 50,000 years’ time the Niagara Falls will run dry and erode
away, leaving behind just shapeless, bare rock. In Africa, the Sahara Desert won’t have disappeared
but, according to multiple models, it may have transformed into a large and sprawling
tropical grassland with lakes. Meanwhile, our planet’s skies will be visibly different too.
Due to how the stars move, the same ones won’t always be visible from Earth.
Over time they’ll drift into different areas and create new constellations. Even just 50,000 years
from now, the shapes will have totally changed… so, were a modern day astronomer to be transported
one million years into the future, they would struggle to recognize any star patterns.
But that same sky could prove to be our undoing, too. There are a number of possible
doomsday scenarios that could take place in our one-million-year window, including gamma ray
bursts striking Earth from nearby supernovae, and potential asteroid strikes. There are predictions,
for example, that the triple star system WR 104 may go supernova in the next 300,000 years or so.
In and of itself, it should be no big deal… but if the explosion produces a gamma ray burst,
and if that GRB is pointed in our direction, then the effects could be disastrous.
In the worst-case scenario, a direct hit could tear Earth’s ozone layer apart,
frying all the creatures on the surface and changing Earth’s climate and habitability for
thousands of years thereafter. Predictions do vary for the likelihood of asteroid strikes, but most
concede that Earth is likely to be struck by a big one - of around a mile wide, or more - sometime
within the next 500,000 years. We’ve already seen in Earth’s history how much damage an asteroid
event could cause, triggering volcanic eruptions and potentially kicking up enough debris and ash
to choke the sky and cause an impact winter. A similar outcome could happen were a large
enough supervolcano eruption to take place, too… with some estimates dipping below 20,000 years
as to when the next one of those could strike. But let’s finish on a slightly more upbeat note,
shall we? Because, in the event that humans are still on Earth in one million years’ time,
then it’s a sure bet that we’re here because it’s working out just fine. Technologically speaking,
AI hasn’t run amok but we have built futuristic cities all over the world,
and perhaps even floating cities in the air and on the water… Environmentally speaking,
we will have managed to get a grip on how our planet’s climate works, and we’ll have worked
with it for the best possible outcomes… and scientifically speaking, we may well have
made it to different planets in different star systems, but our species base remains this unique,
blue and green world. Our original and best home. Now, who wouldn’t want a future like that?
What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, check out these other
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