August M
A new scientific projection is raising fresh questions about how long life on Earth can actually survive.
While the planet itself may endure for billions of years, researchers say living organisms could disappear much earlier.
According to LADbible, citing a scientific study, simulations run using advanced computing suggest life on Earth could end in about one billion years.
Not the final end
For decades, scientists have estimated that Earth has around five billion years left before the Sun expands into a red giant and engulfs the planet.
However, the new findings indicate life will not last nearly that long.
The study links the fate of Earth’s biosphere to gradual changes in the Sun’s energy output over time.
As the Sun becomes brighter, conditions on Earth are expected to become increasingly hostile.
A slow collapse
Researchers ran hundreds of thousands of simulations to understand how Earth’s atmosphere will evolve.
Over time, rising temperatures are expected to evaporate oceans and thin the atmosphere.
This process would also reduce oxygen levels, making survival impossible for most forms of life.
“If true,” the study notes, “One can expect atmospheric O₂ levels will also eventually decrease in the distant future.”
Oxygen crisis
Lead author Kazumi Ozaki explained that earlier estimates suggested life could survive for about two billion more years.
Newer models now point to a significantly shorter timeframe.
“For many years, the lifespan of Earth’s biosphere has been discussed based on the steady brightening of the Sun,” he said.
The findings suggest oxygen-dependent life, including humans, would vanish long before the planet itself is destroyed.
Far future warning
The simulations point to an extreme end point around the year 1,000,002,021, when even microorganisms could no longer survive.
By then, Earth would be a dry and overheated world, with no oceans and a severely depleted atmosphere.
Scientists stress that while this timeline is distant, it highlights the fragile balance that supports life.
Present concerns
Although the predicted end lies far in the future, researchers note that environmental changes are already visible today.
Rising temperatures and shifting atmospheric conditions are early signs of long-term planetary change.
The study underscores that while humanity may not face immediate extinction from solar evolution, the limits of Earth’s habitability are finite.
Sources: LADbible, Nature study
