Study suggests life on Earth has around 1.8 billion years left — but the biosphere might evolve to survive even longer

Cracked brown dirt is seen with mountains and yellow haze in the background.

Life on Earth could continue for another 1.8 billion years, according to new research. This figure, which is based on complex climate models, is far longer than many previous studies indicated.

As the sun evolves, it is getting brighter. Our star is currently producing about a third more energy than it did at the dawn of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. And it will continue to get hotter until it eventually dies in about 5 billion years.