Pawan Kumar
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Catastrophe, doom, or mass destruction – When the whole species disappears from the earth at once, we begin to understand it with the first destruction. The first holocaust occurred about 443 million years ago. It was called End-Ordovician. During this time all the water on the earth started turning into ice. Creatures started dying from the cold in the sea and beyond. During this, about 86 species got extinct. Those who remained had adapted themselves according to the new climate. This has been explained in detail in the Current Biology Journal of the year 2017.
The second holocaust came about 359 to 380 million years ago. Even scientists do not have a definite idea. It was called End Devonian. Due to the sudden activation of volcanoes on the earth, the oxygen level started decreasing, and the species started ending. It was so terrible that more than 75 percent of the species present then got extinct. During this, many fishes and corals ended. Interestingly, species with small height and weight such as tetrapods survived. From here the division of amphibians, reptiles and mammals started.
Asteroid’s collision with the earth is said to be the reason for the 5th destruction, although there are many controversies on this. Representational photo (Pixabay)
Now let’s talk about the third holocaust, which is called End Permian. The volcanoes of Siberia were responsible for this mass destruction that took place about 251 million years ago. They started exploding. Poison and acid started spreading in the sea and air. Even the ozone layer was also destroyed. Due to this dangerous UV rays came out. In the meantime, due to the radiation that came out, the forest after forest was destroyed by burning. This period is also called the charcoal gap. Then, apart from the fungus, most of the species got extinct.
About 210 million years ago, there was an orgy on the earth for the fourth time, which was called the End Triassic period. This time also volcanoes erupted, but not in Siberia, but in other places of the earth. Even in this destruction, about 80 species present then were destroyed. What remained were the ancestors of dinosaurs and crocodiles, which were named Crocodylomorphs.
Dinosaurs did not disappear alone, 76 more species ended with them. Representational photo (Pixabay)
The last and fifth mass extinction is called End Cretaceous. This is the time when dinosaurs disappeared from the earth. There has been a long-standing debate on the theory of this holocaust that came about 65.5 million years ago, what was the reason for it. During this time, an asteroid collided with the earth, everyone believes this, but did the oxygen run out due to its collision? Did strong species like dinosaurs end because of that?
In the midst of debate on the reasons, it was also accepted by everyone that the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased and the oxygen level went down completely. During this, 76 species died.
Now it is the turn of the sixth destruction, which scientists have started talking about. How will this happen? Why and when? In the early nineties, the famous paleontologist Richard Leakey warned that humans would be responsible for the sixth extinction. Remind here that all the five previous disasters were natural. Not because of any animal. But this time the danger is more because human activity is reducing oxygen on the earth.
The poison is already being felt in the air. Representational photo (Pixabay)
It has already started. In fact, even without the holocaust, many species continue to disappear from the earth. This is called background rate. Fossil Records often talks about this. This is a normal thing, but due to humans, the speed of extinction of species on the earth has increased almost 100 times. That is, because of us, the destruction of living beings is taking place at 100 times the speed.
In the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a group of scientists is continuously giving studies in this regard. By the way, tell that the sixth mass destruction is being called Holocene or Anthropocene extinction. It is feared that not only bacteria, fungi and trees and plants, humans, reptiles, birds, fishes will all be destroyed. And the reason for this will be climate change.
The fire in the forests from Australia to India is the advanced stage of global warming. Representational photo (Pixabay)
The speed with which the earth is warming and the ice of the oceans is melting, scientists are comparing it with the sudden eruption of volcanoes. Due to this, the water will become so hot that the level of oxygen in it will start decreasing. As a result, sea creatures will start dying. It will start with water, then its effect will reach in the air and gradually many species will end together. Including you and me.
This claim is not just a whim, but it has started because of the background rate being 100 times. There is talk of heat and poisonous air in the atmosphere. Due to rising temperature, forests are catching fire in many countries continuously. In the summer of last year, the cold European countries also woke up from the heat. Even the office had to be closed. The soil was not that fertile.
The sixth mass extinction is being called Holocene or Anthropocene extinction. Representational photo (Pixabay)
Many countries of the world are seeing unseasonal storms, sometimes drought and sometimes earthquakes. The worst thing on this is that instead of being careful, the forests are being cut. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, about 24 million acres of forests are being cut every year since 2015.
Till now it is not known when the next holocaust will come, but many scientists are making different claims. In Science Advances, the Planetary Sciences Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said on the basis of its research that this would happen around the year 2100. Along with this, it is also believed that according to which the earth is getting hot, the destruction can come even before this.
