Climate Change Could Make Human Beings Shrink In Size: Here's Why
According to a fossil expert, climate crisis could make humans shrink in size. Yep, you read that right. But there's a reason behind this. Our bodies are natural machines that evolve with what's required of us. Owing to the climate crisis, temperatures will keep going up on Earth
Climate change is affecting all life forms on Earth, but its most pronounced effects will be felt by human beings. There will be mass displacement, loss of livelihood, and worse, scientists have claimed.
According to a fossil expert, climate crisis could make humans shrink in size. Yep, you read that right. But there's a reason behind this. Our bodies are natural machines that evolve with what's required of us. Owing to the climate crisis, temperatures will keep going up on Earth.
In turn, humans will shrink in size. Why? Mammals that have smaller bodies are better equipped to deal with hot temperatures, Professor Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh, told The Guardian.
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Why would humans shrink in size?
Brusatte compares human beings to early horses during the period called Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum. When temperatures rose about 55 million years ago, horses became smaller in body size.
That era is considered the most recent example of global warming in the geological record, according to Brusatte. In addition, there are similarities in how climate is changing at the moment.
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Also read: Pizzly Bears? Climate Change Is Causing Polar Bears And Grizzly Bears To Mate
Animals in warmer parts of Earth are smaller than those in colder regions owing to an ecological principle known as Bergmann's rule. ¡°The reasons are not entirely understood, but it is probably, in part, because smaller animals have a higher surface area relative to their volume than plumper animals and can thus better shed excess heat," Brusatte wrote in The Rise and Reign of the Mammals.
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Brusatte added that humans could dwarf and become smaller to deal with rising temperatures in the near-future. But there are many who attribute changes in body size more to food and resource availability than just temperatures.
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Also read: Could Climate Change Make Earth's Beautiful Clouds Disappear Forever?
What do you think about humans potentially becoming smaller due to climate change? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
References
Davis, N. (2022, June 8). Climate crisis could make humans shrink in size, says fossil expert. The Guardian.
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