As far as science tells us, the Earth has existed for about 4.5 billion years, and people have called it their home for only 200,000 years. It is, therefore, logical to claim that our planet existed and evolved before us, and it will continue to do so if and when humans are once gone. Let’s look at what happens when humans go extinct:
What Happens When Humans Go Extinct – After a Few Hours
For people to disappear, it would not take long to feel the effect on the world. Shocking changes would occur in just a few hours, and the planet as we know it would change forever. Since most power plants worldwide are powered by fossil fuels produced by the people who run those power plants, worldwide electricity would be interrupted. This means that all the lights and machines powered by that current would simply go out. The world would darken, leaving only as much electricity as solar panels and wind farms produce.
What Happens When Humans Go Extinct – After a Few Days
In 48 hours, without proper maintenance, wind farms and solar panels would be shut down, so there would be no electricity. Pets would start starving and dying from dehydration, as they are not adapted for independent survival. Livestock on farms would also suffer. Railway stations and all underground infrastructure would probably sink quickly as people run the pumps that prevent this.
What Happens When Humans Go Extinct – After a Few Weeks
Some animal species that humans “designed,” like bulldogs and terriers, would become extinct very quickly after humans. Thanks to their survival instinct, large dogs would begin to form large packs and hunt smaller animals in search of food. All domesticated animals would become prey for existing wild animals that, without the people they shun, would start invading cities. Within a few weeks, many animals locked up in zoos would probably escape and would soon become predators like their ancestors.
What Happens When Humans Go Extinct – After a Month
The water that helps to cool numerous nuclear power plants worldwide would evaporate, causing devastating nuclear explosions. Millions of animals and plants would die from radiation or cancer caused by these explosions. Sewerage systems that rely on human management would also stop working, and after the accumulation of excessive amounts without regulation, all the contents would spill into rivers and lakes. That would kill most of the wildlife in them, destroying entire ecosystems. The chemical and gas industries would also start to affect the environment as chemicals would be released into the atmosphere, while natural gas would start fires that would last for days.
What Happens When Humans Go Extinct – After a Year
If humans disappeared, the Earth would begin to “self-build” after a year because there would be no one to control or model it. Fortunately, the planet would be able to recover from all the nuclear, chemical, and similar disasters pretty quickly. Unsurprisingly, all materials that would otherwise be recycled, such as plastics and electronics, would now be found in watercourses. A year after the disappearance of humans, satellites would begin to fall from the sky, forming a spectacle that would resemble a meteor shower.
25 Years Later
Without humans and their mutations in plant genes, they would grow more extensive and more accessible, with some species becoming extinct and those more resistant experiencing a vast expansion. The vegetation would take about two decades to return to its natural, original state. The plants would also take over the cities of once-popular streets and alleys that would now be covered with grass, bushes, and trees. With vegetation would come animals that depend on it as a food source. Thus, cities would be flooded with wildlife, and buildings and homes would decay en masse without maintenance. Cities like Dubai and Vegas would return to their natural state – so they would be covered entirely in desert sand. The lack of pollution caused by people would also begin to be seen, and visibility would be significantly increased.
300 Years Later
Animals now rule the world, and once-endangered animals like elephants would fully recover from the human activities that threatened them, such as the ivory trade. It is also likely that exotic animals from zoos would spread and breed in the surrounding area, so their distribution worldwide would be pretty diverse. Lions and elephants that once considered Africa their home would probably chase in Berlin, Paris, and New York. Due to corrosion, large steel structures such as bridges, skyscrapers, and the like will start to fall. The sea world would also recover and develop incredibly without people, and the world sea would become flooded with life.
10,000 Years Later
All cities and every possible reminder of human existence would disappear, except for a few stone structures that have withstood the test of time to this day because they were made for eternity. It is assumed that only the pyramids, the Great Wall of China, and the monument to Mt. Rushmore will be the only proof that we were once there, but one could hardly think of how we once ruled the world.
50 Million Years Later
The only thing related to humans that would survive 50 million years would be plastic in the fossils that could confuse future aliens if they found themselves on Earth. It would take the planet another 50 million years to get rid of plastics and that last trace of human existence. Watch the video: