We know that we have a huge, and often negative, impact on the planet. But what would happen if all humans suddenly disappeared?
In the in the episode above, AsapSCIENCE shows us how Earth would look a few months, centuries and millennia from now.
As you can imagine, one of the biggest impacts would be on other species on the planet - within a few hundred years, the animals we haven't already wiped out would begin to bounce back, albeit with altered habitats, and plants and trees would begin to take over our cities.
But it wouldn't all be good news for wildlife - within a few weeks our beloved pets and the 1.5 billion cows, nearly a billion pigs and 20 billion chickens we have in captivity would all break out and try to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, many of these animals wouldn't make it, due to selective breeding making them ill-suited for life in the wild (sorry pugs). Head lice and cockroaches would also suffer, as they're so reliant on human populations.
Within a few centuries, the streets would turn into rivers, wooden buildings would either be burnt down or degraded by termites, and steel would begin to rust and crumble.
But there will be a few enduring traces of humans on Earth, and in space, long after we're gone. Find out what our longest lasting legacy on the planet will be, and what alien paleontologists will think of us - arguably Earth's most invasive species - in the episode above.
Source: AsapSCIENCE