Scientists have captured Earth’s climate over the last 485 million years. This is where we stand

Illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: A groundbreaking study reconstructing Earth's climate over 485 million years reveals wild temperature shifts and warns of the unprecedented speed of current human-caused warming
• Using fossil evidence and climate models, scientists found that Earth's average temperatures were far higher for most of its history, with spikes linked to catastrophic events
• The study offers insight into how carbon dioxide has driven past climate extremes

🔭 The context: This is the most comprehensive climate timeline ever created, combining over 150,000 data points from fossils and climate models
• It shows that while Earth has faced extreme heat in the past, today's rapid warming outpaces historical changes, such as those linked to mass extinctions

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The research underscores the role of CO₂ in driving temperature changes and highlights the urgency of mitigating human-induced emissions to avoid catastrophic impacts on ecosystems and human societies

⏭️ What's next: Scientists aim to refine their understanding by adding more data from land-based proxies and using this knowledge to improve predictions of future climate scenarios

💬 One quote: "What we’re doing now is unprecedented... we're changing Earth’s temperature at a rate that exceeds anything we know about," — Emily Judd, lead author

📈 One stat: Earth's average temperature reached as high as 96.8°F (36°C) in its past, compared to today's global average of about 58.96°F (14.98°C)

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