Sixty-three million years from now, Earth will be a geologically and biologically altered world, unrecognizable from the present day, with new supercontinent formation underway, drastically shifted climates, and a completely evolved biosphere. This period lies within the transition phase toward the next supercontinent (often called Pangaea Proxima or Novopangea), which is predicted to fully form in roughly 200–250 million years.
Here is what scientific projections suggest will happen to Earth by that time:
1. Geological and Continental Shift
- Mediterranean Vanishes: The collision between Africa and Europe will have progressed significantly, closing the Mediterranean Sea and creating a massive new mountain range stretching from the current Mediterranean into the Persian Gulf.
- Atlantic Widening: The Atlantic Ocean will likely continue widening, while the Pacific Ocean narrows as the Americas, Asia, and Africa begin drifting closer together.
- New Subduction Zones: New mountain chains may form along the eastern coast of North and South America due to new subduction zones, similar to the Andes.
- Australia-Indonesia Merge: Australia will have shifted further north, merging with Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
- Africa Splitting: The East African Rift valley is expected to widen, allowing the Red Sea to flood and creating a new sea that divides Africa.
2. Climate and Sea Levels
- Warmth and High Sea Levels: Due to increased plate tectonics and volcanic activity during the merger of continents, the climate will likely be much warmer, reminiscent of the Cretaceous period.
- Melting Ice Caps: With Antarctica shifting north, it will be much warmer, resulting in the melting of its massive ice sheets.
- Sea Levels Rising: The combination of melted Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets will raise global ocean levels by roughly 90 meters (300 ft) above current levels, flooding lower-lying continental areas.
3. Biological Evolution
- Extinction of Modern Species: Within 63 million years, it is almost certain that most current species of animals, plants, and insects will have gone extinct, replaced by new lineages and evolutionary forms.
- Mammalian Evolution: Mammals will have undergone 63 million years of new evolution, likely creating strange and varied forms that fit the new geography, similar to how mammals diversified after the dinosaur extinction 66 million years ago.
- Biodiversity Recovery: The ecological “reset” caused by human activity (if it leads to a mass extinction) would have fully recovered and blossomed into a completely new, vastly different ecosystem.
4. Human and Environmental Impact
- Disappearance of Modern Geography: Current cities, borders, and perhaps even the memory of human civilization will have been completely erased by tectonic activity, erosion, and sea-level changes.
- Atmospheric Changes: While oxygen levels will still be sustainable (significant decay doesn’t start for hundreds of millions of years), the atmospheric composition will fluctuate based on the high level of volcanic activity accompanying the supercontinent’s assembly.