· 2 min read
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)
Click for more news covering the latest on climate change
