Human activity halted a new ice age, study finds

A new study published in Science reveals that human activity halted a new ice age that Earth had begun entering around 2,000 years ago, reversing the natural cooling process and causing global temperatures to rise instead. Researchers analyzed ancient plant and moss remains exposed by retreating glaciers on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, finding traces of the glaciation's onset. The process, driven by natural orbital variations reducing summer solar radiation, was interrupted by greenhouse gas emissions, with human impact becoming significant from the 1960s onward. While stopping an ice age might seem beneficial, scientists view it as a warning sign. Natural cooling cycles unfold over millennia, allowing gradual adaptation, whereas human-induced warming has disrupted the climate in just decades, posing unprecedented challenges for ecosystems and societies.