If the Sun dimmed by 1%: scientists calculated the shocking consequences for Earth.

According to ТСН: Scientists studied the potential consequences that could arise from a 1% reduction in the Sun's brightness per year and a 5% decrease over 20 years. Although these changes may seem insignificant, experts warn that in practice such fluctuations could have serious consequences for humanity.

“Even if some organisms can survive underground, humanity would perish much faster — primarily due to panic and social collapse,” explained scientist David Stevenson from the California Institute of Technology.

What happens when the Sun dims

The Sun supplies the Earth with approximately 1,365 watts of energy per square meter. Any decrease in this flow could cause severe changes in the climate. If brightness decreases, the Earth will begin to cool rapidly.

Lucy Green from University College London noted that the Sun has natural activity that changes during an 11-year cycle, but these fluctuations have minimal impact on the climate. For example, during the Maunder Minimum (1645–1715), a 0.22% decrease in solar activity led to the Little Ice Age in Europe.

Possible catastrophic consequences

If the Sun's brightness decreases by 1%, the Earth's climate will experience serious and irreversible changes:

• –0.6°C: the beginning of mass crop failures in Europe.

• –2°C: global famine that could threaten billions of people.

• –6°C: a new ice age, glaciers will cover a significant part of the Northern Hemisphere.

Let’s imagine the complete extinction of the Sun: temperatures would drop to –73°C within a year and to –240°C over millions of years.

Research shows that even a temperature decrease of 1.8°C could lead to an 11% reduction in the production of major agricultural crops (wheat, corn, soybeans, rice). It is estimated that famine could claim 5.3 billion lives within two years.

Is such a scenario possible?

Fortunately, scientists assure that this is unlikely. The Sun physically cannot cool down that quickly. Even if its core completely stopped producing energy, brightness would only decrease by 1% over a million years.

Professor Michael Lockwood from the University of Reading noted that the large mass of the Sun acts as a “thermal battery” which cannot cool quickly.

In fact, natural changes in the Sun's brightness fluctuate within 0.1–0.25% — this is not enough for a large-scale catastrophe.

Thus, the dramatic scenario of an “instant ice age” is excluded. Scientists reassure that such a development of events is impossible.

So, while a decrease in the Sun's brightness may have serious consequences, modern research proves that such changes in nature are not realistic. It is important to continue research and monitor factors that may affect the climate, but there is no need to panic — for now, the Sun is stable.