NASA has revealed the 5 regions that will present conditions too hostile for human life by 2050. Let’s see what they are and why.
Nasa released an alarming statement: “By 2050, some parts of our planet could become uninhabitable”.
The US Space Agency relied on some data collected by satellites and the perspective that emerged is nothing short of worrying. In fact, it is estimated that between 30 and 50 years some areas of the Earth will no longer have adequate conditions for the development of human life.
What are these conclusions and how were we reached?
Do you know what the wet bulb is?
First of all, it is necessary to state that the increase in global temperatures, linked above all to the use of fossil fuels, has already caused an increase of approximately 1 degree Celsius or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
The increase in temperatures is also linked to the greenhouse effect, caused by high quantities of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants. These factors make the Earth an increasingly inhospitable environment for humans.
NASA then launched this new alarm through the study of the so-called wet bulb, an entity that can be used for the detection of risk areas. The wet bulb is a meteorological measurement that combines air temperature and humidity in the human perception of heat. Under climate change, the wet bulb becomes important because it determines how much heat is perceived as oppressive and possibly harmful to human health, especially in urban areas.
Uninhabitable Earth, but not everywhere yet
Space agency researchers have found that a wet bulb index above 35°C for 6 consecutive hours could lead to serious risks to human health. In such conditions, the body loses the ability to regulate its internal temperature and the consequences can be fatal.
However, today most warm and humid regions on Earth have a wet bulb index that does not exceed 25-27 °C. It is certainly a tiring condition for the human organism, but in any case not too dangerous.
The 5 risk areas
According to NASA, some subtropical regions have already exceeded the critical threshold with respect to the wet bulb in the last 15 years.
In the crosshairs, we find a good part of the South Asian nations, such as Pakistan. Even several countries located in the Persian Gulf or towards the shores of the Red Sea are not exempt from the danger. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones: by 2070 other areas will be added, such as some parts of Brazil and others towards Eastern China. Then, some regions of the United States could undergo significant changes in the coming decades and endanger the population.
Finally, the phenomenon could spread to other territories and intensify as global warming progresses. This means that potentially other spaces could also exceed 35° wet bulb and thus transform into uninhabitable areas.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2024-06-18 19:55:22. Original title: 5 luoghi che tra 50 anni saranno inabitabili
