Intellectual abilities in humans will be reduced by up to 50% due to CO2

Credir: Pete Linforth / Pixabay

A team of American scientists showed that high levels of carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) in the atmosphere can affect the intellectual abilities of humans.

The increasing amounts of CO ₂ gas expelled into the atmosphere are one of the main responsible for global warming. But as if that wasn’t enough, scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the Colorado School of Public Health and the University of Pennsylvania found evidence that suggests that higher levels of CO ₂ in the future can negatively affect cognitive abilities of the students in the classrooms.

How they determined

Researchers observed how the increase in carbon dioxide levels affects children’s learning. Previous studies have already shown that a high concentration of carbon dioxide really affects mental abilities. This could be solved simply by opening the windows to let in fresh air.

However, it was not known that the effect of ‘incoming’ fresh air would have a high concentration of CO ₂ . In this sense, specialists created a model with two scenarios: one in which humanity will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere and another in which emissions remain unchanged.

According to the study, students’ cognitive abilities are reduced in either case.

Scientists estimate that, at best, student intelligence will decrease by 2100 by 25%. In the worst case it will be 50%.

The researchers point out this is the first study that analyzes the impact on people who breathe higher than normal levels of CO ₂ on a regular basis. In addition, they mentioned that this problem could be avoided by ending CO ₂ emissions.

The scientific study was published in EarthArXiv .