Is humanity’s end closer than we think? Supercomputer’s grim prediction raises alarm

A future where the very air suffocates, the land burns, and the oceans no longer offer relief- might sound like something from a sci-fi film, but is a prediction made by a supercomputer. Scientists from the University of Bristol have used a powerful supercomputer to simulate what our planet could look like 250 million years from now—and the results are shocking.
Right now, Earth’s continents are scattered across the planet, with vast oceans helping to regulate temperatures. But scientists predict that in the distant future, these landmasses will merge into a single, massive supercontinent called Pangaea Ultima. The said continent will find itself located near the equator.
The location implies that except on the coastlines, the inner land will be deprived of water resources as well as will have to face the sweltering heat, which was toned down due to water bodies. According to climate scientist Dr. Alexander Farnsworth, Pangaea Ultima will bring “extreme heat, stifling humidity, and unstoppable volcanic activity”—a deadly trio that could push Earth beyond its ability to sustain human life.

Due to its proximity to the equator, daily temperatures could soar beyond 50°C (122°F) in many places. Worse, the air will be so humid that sweating—our body’s natural cooling system—won’t work properly. Without sweat evaporating, our bodies will overheat quickly, making survival nearly impossible.
As per the calculations of the researchers, 92% of Earth’s landmass will become too hot for mammals to survive. Only narrow strips of coastal land and the poles might remain habitable, but with so little space left, life as we know it could collapse.
Not just the sky, the continent and human life will also face the heat from down below. As the continents push together to form Pangaea Ultima, tectonic plates deep under the Earth’s surface will collide, setting off a chain reaction of massive volcanic eruptions. These eruptions will pump enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, trapping even more heat and worsening global warming.
And it doesn’t stop there—the Sun itself is slowly getting hotter. Scientists predict that by this time, the Sun will be about 2.5% brighter, adding to the planet’s already unbearable heat. With volcanoes choking the air and the Sun shining stronger than ever, Earth will become a true furnace.

The extreme conditions are not sustainable for a 21st-century human, however, since the process is gradual and not a phenomenon that will happen overnight, thus humans might adapt to thicker skin, improved sweat glands, or different body shapes to cope with the heat. But again evolution is a slow process, and we may not have that kind of time.
Technology might offer quicker solutions. Some experts believe that humans could move underground, building vast subterranean cities where temperatures remain stable. Another possibility? Becoming nocturnal—sleeping through the deadly daytime heat and only coming out at night, like modern desert animals.
Earth has seen mass extinctions before. Around 200 million years ago, a similar event—the end-Triassic extinction—wiped out 76% of all species. Back then, volcanic eruptions triggered extreme climate change, just like what scientists predict for Pangaea Ultima.
“Extinction events have happened before and will happen again,” says Dr. Hannah Davies, a geologist at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. “Life will find a way—but it may not be the life we recognize today.”