What If Oxygen Levels Doubled In The Earth's Atmosphere?
A healthy person breathes about 23,000 times a day and the human body gets 90% of energy from oxygen as food gives us just 10 percent of our energy needs and therefore, oxygen is needed for the other 90 percent of our energy. The existence of humans and other creatures became possible on the earth only because of oxygen. If oxygen is removed from the earth even for just 5 seconds, everything will be completely finished. Huge skyscrapers would instantly turn to ash as the lack of oxygen would break down the binding nature of the concrete.
As everyone knows, there is 78% nitrogen and about 21% oxygen in the earth's atmosphere. But what if the amount of oxygen doubles i.e. increases from 21 to 42 percent? Well, it sounds quite beneficial, but you will be completely stunned to hear its disadvantages. The amount of oxygen on earth balances our atmosphere but if its balance is disturbed, the damage can also be huge.
You may have seen giant bees, lizards, insects, and other creatures in many Hollywood science fiction movies, which look far more huge and terrifying than the present-day creatures. But this is not a fantasy because millions of years ago, our earth was ruled by some such terrible and gigantic creatures. About 300 million years ago, the oxygen on our earth was about 30 percent compared to today's 21 percent, due to which the creatures present at that time used to be 2 to 3 times bigger than today. Also, the trees and plants at that time used to be much more huge than today.
But if for some reason the oxygen in our earth's atmosphere increases from 21 percent to twice i.e. about 42 percent. Then all small insects like cockroaches, spiders, bees, and others will increase immensely in size. Because if such insects get more oxygen then their size will increase rapidly. That is, the size of an ant can be equal to that of a pigeon and Dragonflies would grow to the size of hawks. Every person will feel more energetic and there will be better blood circulation within humans, which will reduce diseases. But this is for a very short time as it will also bring some long-term diseases which can affect human life. Because too much oxygen in the body can lead to something called oxygen toxicity, which can lead to exhaustion and death.
Due to double oxygen in the atmosphere, anything will catch fire very quickly and forest fires will become more destructive. The incidents of fire will increase and the fire will start more and more often. In addition, there will be no need for oxygen cylinders while ascending Mount Everest. Because even after reaching such a high peak, you will be able to breathe easily.