Earth will be left without oxygen: scientists have found out when life will disappear

Researchers Kazumi Ozaki and Christopher Reinhard have modeled the future of Earth's atmosphere and concluded that in about 1.08 billion years, oxygen levels will drop sharply due to the natural evolution of the Sun. The increase in the star's brightness will lead to a reduction in CO₂, making photosynthesis ineffective. Life for humans and animals will become impossible, but some microorganisms will survive.

Scientists Kazumi Ozaki from Toho University and Christopher Reinhard from the Georgia Institute of Technology conducted computer modeling of the future of Earth's atmosphere. The results, published in Nature Geoscience, are based on more than 400,000 simulations. The main conclusion: in about 1.08 billion years, the oxygen content in the atmosphere will sharply decrease. The reason is the natural evolution of the Sun. As the star ages, its brightness increases, which accelerates the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. CO₂ is necessary for plants to perform photosynthesis, which produces oxygen. When CO₂ becomes too scarce, photosynthesis will no longer compensate for oxygen consumption. A phase of rapid deoxygenation will begin. At the same time, the ozone layer will start to break down, and the methane content in the atmosphere will increase. Earth will return to conditions that existed before the Great Oxidation Event 2.4 billion years ago. For humans and most animals, such changes are incompatible with life, but some microorganisms capable of surviving without oxygen may persist. The author of the material is Tomer Adoni.