Sunday, 2nd February 2020
By: Haris Ahmad[1]
Life has evolved on the Earth in billions of years. Many living things have lived and then died, some species survived the harsh conditions they faced from disasters and some were bemused on what to do and became extinct. Just like the dinosaurs met their fate by facing extinction to a huge asteroid named ‘Chicxulub’.
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| Image Source: https://www.newsweek.com/extinction-asteroid-wiped-out-dinosaurs-catastrophic-global-winter-699009 |
We, humans, have lived for almost 200,000 years on this planet and have prospered because of the resources that this planet offered. However, we can meet the fate of the dinosaurs anytime. Not only an asteroid but many other natural as well as man-made disasters can wipe us all out. Though asteroids that can wipe all life on Earth only hit the Earth about every 500,000 years, we still never know what can hit us anytime. As I have explained in my previous blogs, there are many threats to humans that can lead them to extinction. Any major escalation of a war between nuclear-possessing countries can lead to the use of nuclear weapons which are capable of wiping out humanity but how? Some of you may be thinking that the bombs will only affect a small area. Well, whoever thinks that is wrong. The strongest bomb today is the Tsar bomb which is 1500 times more dangerous than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs combined. Just think of what these bombs can do.
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| Image Source: https://www.quora.com/Are-there-currently-any-unexploded-nukes-that-are-as-powerful-or-more-powerful-than-the-Tsar-Bomba |
Firstly, after the explosion, there won’t be a rise in temperatures. In fact, it will result in global cooling and cause a nuclear winter. Consequently, it would damage the ozone layer and later it will cause droughts which will be decades-long. These types of conditions would kill nearly all life on Earth just in a few months.
Moreover, a supervolcano eruption can also destroy everything in its range and later form ash clouds that would stop the process of photosynthesis as the sunlight won’t be able to reach us. Furthermore, humans are capable of making genetically engineered viruses that can kill a lot of humans.
Humans are capable of achieving the impossible. It is their curiosity that helps them travel in this vast universe. It is our curiosity that will lead us to inventions that will help us travel the deep space. I hope we will be able to invent something like that in time.
[1] Haris Ahmad is currently studying in 9th grade (O levels) in The City School Islamabad.
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