Scientists Estimate Mammals Will Go Extinct In 250 Million Years Due To Extreme Heat

Nearly all land mammals on Earth will die out in 250 million years, according to computer modelling of how the planet's continents and climate will change in the very long term, New Scientist reported.

Alexander Farnsworth, a paleoclimate scientist at the University of Bristol who led the team, said that the planet might become too hot for any mammals - including humans- to survive on Earth. The scientists said that in future the climate will turn deadly due to three factors, including a brighter sun, a change in the geography of the continents and increases in carbon dioxide.

The study was published on Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience. Dr Farnsworth said, "It's a triple whammy that becomes unsurvivable."

Astronomers expect that our sun will grow steadily brighter and, in about 7.6 billion years, may engulf the Earth, New York Times reported. The study says that Earth's atmosphere will heat up, causing more water to evaporate from the oceans and continents.

Scientists predicted that a new supercontinent - dubbed Pangea Ultima - will form along the equator 250 million years from now. Researchers said that Pangea Ultima will also influence the climate thanks to its topography, which will include vast stretches of flat land far from the ocean.

Pangea Ultima becomes studded with volcanoes that belch carbon dioxide, due to which the carbon dioxide levels in the air are likely to climb.

Dr. Farnsworth and his colleagues say that things will probably get far worse for mammals like us. The researchers found that almost all of Pangea Ultima could easily become too hot for any mammal to survive. They might disappear in a mass extinction, the media outlet reported.

"Mammals may survive somewhat longer than modelled," he said - maybe 200 million years, give or take.