global warming

[Macoy]

how long will the world be inhabitable for if global warming doesn't stop?

[Mortartube]

I don't think that anyone can accurately answer that question. Whilst most scientists agree that global warming is taking place, they can't seem to agree how much the temperature will rise within a certain time. Some predict a slight rise in the next century whilst some have predicted a rise of up to 6 degrees which would be catastrophic. So the answer could be as little as one to two centuries if the worse case predictions are right.

[Macoy]

thanks

[shaun_04]

are you talking uninhabitable for humans? or all life

[Macoy]

all life

[shaun_04]

then hundreds of thousands of years.

most smaller forms of life are very adaptable, take things like extremophiles, they life in molten lava, and in the middle of ice bergs, it would take something huge to get rid of all life.

[ugly_bob]

plus, not everyone agrees that it is actually happening. Some schools of thought reckon that we are just in a naturally warming stage as we exit from the last ice age

[dawkins]

not everyone agrees the world is round UB, doesn't mean it isn't.

Macoy, there are many problems with making predictions on the long term effects of climate. Different regions of the Earth would experience rises and falls in temperature due to shifting ocean currents. it is possible that northern europe will experience dramatic cooling if the gulf stream shifts south the knock on effects of this are very unpredictable but a mass extinction event is possible.

D