Next Ice Age Due in 11,000 Years – if Global Warming Doesn’t Stop It

From Ancient Origins

For the first time, scientists may be able to predict the onset of the next ice age with remarkable accuracy. New research confirms a long-standing theory that Earth’s tilt in relation to the sun has dictated the cycle of ice ages for the past 800,000 years, triggering both their onset and decline.

The groundbreaking study that verified this concept was led by Stephen Barker, a researcher from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, He and his colleagues identified a striking correlation between changes in Earth’s axial tilt and the formation of massive ice sheets. According to their findings, the next ice age will likely have arrived in earnest in approximately 11,000 years, but with one important caveat: the potential impact of human-induced global warming, which if real, continuous and significant could disrupt this natural cycle.