---
title: "What happens if — the earth"
description: "16 what-if questions in the the earth category, each labelled by how confident the answer actually is."
url: https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/earth/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The Earth

16 questions in the the earth category.

| Question | Answer | Confidence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning? | Everything not bolted down would keep moving east at up to 465 metres per second, and the oceans would migrate to the poles. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if the Sun went out? | Eight minutes and twenty seconds of normality, then permanent night — and surface temperatures below freezing within a week. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if the Earth lost the Moon? | Tides would drop to about a third, nights would be dark, and Earth's axial tilt would eventually wander. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if all the ice on Earth melted? | Sea level would rise by about 70 metres, redrawing every coastline on the planet. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if all the bees died? | Serious, expensive and not civilisation-ending — most staple calories come from wind-pollinated grasses. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if the Earth's magnetic field flipped? | It has flipped hundreds of times already, most recently 780,000 years ago, with no mass extinction attached. | Established science |
| What would happen if all the trees disappeared? | A carbon and water-cycle catastrophe — but not suffocation, because most oxygen production is marine and the atmosphere holds a huge reserve. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if the Earth spun twice as fast? | A twelve-hour day, more violent weather, and everyone at the equator about 1.4 per cent lighter. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if the Moon were closer to Earth? | Tides scale as the inverse cube of distance — at half the distance they would be eight times larger. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if all the volcanoes erupted at once? | Sulphate aerosols would cool the planet for years, then the released carbon dioxide would warm it for millennia. | Speculative |
| What would happen if the ocean currents stopped? | North-west Europe would cool sharply while the tropics warmed — the ocean moves as much heat poleward as the atmosphere does. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if all the insects died? | Far worse than losing bees — decomposition, pollination and the base of most terrestrial food webs would fail together. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if the Amazon rainforest burned? | It holds well over a hundred gigatonnes of carbon and generates much of its own rainfall — losing it would change climate far beyond South America. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if all the bacteria disappeared? | Complex life would end within years — nitrogen fixation, decomposition and digestion all run on bacteria. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if the Earth stopped moving in its orbit? | It would fall into the Sun in about 65 days. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if the oceans disappeared? | Rain would stop, temperature swings would become extreme, and most of the planet's oxygen production would end. | Reasoned extrapolation |

- [What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/earth-stopped-spinning/) — Everything not bolted down would keep moving east at up to 465 metres per second, and the oceans would migrate to the poles.
- [What would happen if the Sun went out?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/sun-went-out/) — Eight minutes and twenty seconds of normality, then permanent night — and surface temperatures below freezing within a week.
- [What would happen if the Earth lost the Moon?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/earth-lost-the-moon/) — Tides would drop to about a third, nights would be dark, and Earth's axial tilt would eventually wander.
- [What would happen if all the ice on Earth melted?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/all-ice-melted/) — Sea level would rise by about 70 metres, redrawing every coastline on the planet.
- [What would happen if all the bees died?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/all-bees-died/) — Serious, expensive and not civilisation-ending — most staple calories come from wind-pollinated grasses.
- [What would happen if the Earth's magnetic field flipped?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/magnetic-field-flipped/) — It has flipped hundreds of times already, most recently 780,000 years ago, with no mass extinction attached.
- [What would happen if all the trees disappeared?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/all-trees-disappeared/) — A carbon and water-cycle catastrophe — but not suffocation, because most oxygen production is marine and the atmosphere holds a huge reserve.
- [What would happen if the Earth spun twice as fast?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/earth-spun-twice-as-fast/) — A twelve-hour day, more violent weather, and everyone at the equator about 1.4 per cent lighter.
- [What would happen if the Moon were closer to Earth?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/moon-were-closer/) — Tides scale as the inverse cube of distance — at half the distance they would be eight times larger.
- [What would happen if all the volcanoes erupted at once?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/all-volcanoes-erupted/) — Sulphate aerosols would cool the planet for years, then the released carbon dioxide would warm it for millennia.
- [What would happen if the ocean currents stopped?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/ocean-currents-stopped/) — North-west Europe would cool sharply while the tropics warmed — the ocean moves as much heat poleward as the atmosphere does.
- [What would happen if all the insects died?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/all-insects-died/) — Far worse than losing bees — decomposition, pollination and the base of most terrestrial food webs would fail together.
- [What would happen if the Amazon rainforest burned?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/amazon-burned/) — It holds well over a hundred gigatonnes of carbon and generates much of its own rainfall — losing it would change climate far beyond South America.
- [What would happen if all the bacteria disappeared?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/all-bacteria-died/) — Complex life would end within years — nitrogen fixation, decomposition and digestion all run on bacteria.
- [What would happen if the Earth stopped moving in its orbit?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/earth-stopped-orbiting/) — It would fall into the Sun in about 65 days.
- [What would happen if the oceans disappeared?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/oceans-disappeared/) — Rain would stop, temperature swings would become extreme, and most of the planet's oxygen production would end.