The new series "What do we know about planet Earth?" it will reveal the connection between evolution and warming

A new wave of extinction is coming on Earth. The rate of global warming has doubled in recent years. Scientists are trying to understand what threatens humanity by studying the ancient Lena River. Who will survive and when to expect a global catastrophe? These questions are answered by the creators of the program "What do we know about planet Earth?". The premiere of the new series will take place on July 5 on the REN TV channel.

Actor and main narrator of the project Alexey Guskov will debunk the main scientific myths, and the most attentive viewers will be able to participate in the prize draw. Roman Polshakov, a correspondent for Izvestia, spoke in more detail about the project.

Lena is getting deeper, its shores are being washed away up to 15 m per year. It is the largest river in the world, flowing in the permafrost zone. Permafrost, and with it dangerous substances, are now being "printed out" by global warming. All this goes to the Arctic. According to scientists, by the end of the century, the appearance of the Lena Delta may change beyond recognition. Just like the Laptev Sea, because the river is changing its ecosystem.

"The unique Laptev species of walruses, seals, seals — their population should decrease. A huge amount of sedimentary material entering the sea is changing the entire ecosystem of the sea," said Valery Rusakov, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences.

Lena has become a real indicator of global warming. It shows how rising temperatures are changing everything around us, albeit slowly and not so dramatically compared to what the Earth experienced 252 million years ago.

In the new episode of the NMG DOC program "What do we know about planet Earth?" Presenter Guskov will talk about the record warming that has wiped out almost all living things. There is evidence of this — rocks on the Putorana plateau in Siberia. Viewers will learn about the mysteries of the planet and its history, how many times nature itself got rid of life on Earth, and what kind of wave of mass extinction is coming.

"It would be good to know how fragile our existence is, how independent the Earth is, how much it does not take into account our "I want" and moods, lives its own life, it must be carefully treated like its own home," Guskov said.

The rate of warming has doubled in recent years, previously the Earth was changing itself, now it is being helped by humans. Nature reacts to this in its own way.

"During the period of climatic optimum, there are more forests, forests are getting better, respectively, there are fewer deserts. If we continue to accelerate this process, it will not be very good," said Sergey Yakutseni, a member of the Public council of the Federal Forestry Agency, Candidate of Geological and mineralogical Sciences, geochemist, geoecologist.

According to scientists, rivers in their modern understanding appeared 320 million years ago, in the middle of the Carboniferous period. It is the waterways of the planet that are the first to take the impact of global warming, some are becoming shallow, especially in arid areas, while others, on the contrary, are becoming more abundant.

As in the case of Lena, an ancient river that holds many secrets. The Lena pillars on its shore are like a diary of the Earth, which scientists are now trying to read. In 2023, paleontologists found fossils of previously unknown organisms dating back to the Cambrian period.

"15-20 thousand years ago, the whole of Siberia, including Yakutia, did not look like what they are now. Mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses and many other creatures lived there," said Sergey Chumakov, Honorary Doctor of Sciences at the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.

Throughout history, millions of species of living organisms that have ever existed have become extinct on Earth, and now up to 100 species of plants and animals are dying on the planet every day. When the next chapter begins and evolution takes a new turn, who will survive, and what does global warming have to do with it? The answers to these questions will be in the new episodes of the project "What do we know about planet Earth?" on July 5 on REN TV.

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