Three Historic Climate Events and What They Teach Us
Scientists have warned about the catastrophic effects that climate change will have on human and natural life
In “Atlas of the Anthropocene,” environmental geopolitics expert François Gemenne predicts global temperatures will rise by 4 to 6 degrees Celsius by 2100. Climate scientists warn that the rapid increase in the earth’s average temperature will cause frequent severe weather events, such as hurricanes, floods, and droughts. As a result, large regions of the planet will become uninhabitable, and millions of people will be displaced.
In the face of the looming threat of future environmental catastrophes, some archaeologists, climatologists, and natural scientists have turned to the past to study the role of weather conditions in the rise and collapse of ancient civilizations and societies.
“We use that long past environment to look at scenarios for the future,” says Georgetown geoscientist Timothy Beach. While it’s unlikely that climate events alone can cause the collapse of civilizations, scholars argue that extreme climatic episodes exacerbate underlying political, societal, and economic problems. According to geographer Francis Ludlow of Trinity College, “abrupt climatic events place great stress on societies and can…
