When the climate tipping point is reached there will be a cascade of changes to our planet, resulting in a domino effect that could test humanity’s very survival. Now experts point to a change in Africa 5,500 years ago, one that could be the clearest analogue for what we might be about to go through.
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Climate experts agree that we're reaching a tipping point
00:06 with regards to our ecosystems.
00:08 When that point is reached, there
00:10 will be a cascade of changes to our planet,
00:12 resulting in a domino effect that could test
00:14 humanity's very survival.
00:16 Now experts point to a change in Africa 5,500 years ago,
00:20 one that could be the clearest analog for what we
00:22 might be about to go through.
00:23 5 and 1/2 millennia ago, the continent
00:25 went through a severe change as the Sahara Desert
00:28 expanded rapidly.
00:29 It took over grasslands, forests, and lakes,
00:31 forcing the humans in the area to find resources elsewhere.
00:34 This forced more people into smaller areas
00:37 and gave rise to one of our planet's
00:38 first great civilizations, ancient Egypt.
00:41 Experts say as Africa transitioned out
00:43 of its humid period, it went back and forth
00:45 between two relatively stable climate states.
00:48 By drilling sedimentary cores hundreds of feet
00:50 deep in an African lake bed, scientists
00:52 have concluded that the Saharan areas went
00:54 through 14 dry phases over around 1,000 years.
00:57 They say each lasted between 20 and 80 years,
01:00 with experts adding that the same thing could happen now
01:03 as a precursor to permanent climate changes,
01:05 explaining that better understanding these precursors
01:08 could help us better predict or even mitigate these changes.
01:12 (upbeat music)
01:15 (upbeat music)