Scientists have revealed the reasons behind the rapid growth of Earth"s population

Earth's Population Has Exceeded the Permissible Limit by Three Times — and It's All Because of Fossil Fuels

This is the conclusion reached by scientists who published a study in the journal Environmental Research Letters (ERL).

The rapid demographic boom of recent centuries was made possible by the massive use of fossil fuels. It was fossil fuels that temporarily expanded access to resources and allowed humanity to maintain previously unprecedented levels of consumption.

However, scientists warn that this effect is nothing more than an illusion of sustainability. Dependence on hydrocarbon energy simultaneously accelerates environmental problems — from climate change to large-scale ecosystem degradation.

After analyzing demographic data and resource consumption trends over the past two hundred years, researchers reached an alarming conclusion: the human population has long exceeded the threshold that the planet can sustain without irreversible consequences.

The study was based on the concept of "carrying capacity" — a measure that determines how many people the Earth can support without depleting its natural resources. The results were staggering: according to the scientists' calculations, the optimal population size at the current level of consumption should not exceed 2.5 billion people. Meanwhile, more than 8 billion people already live on the planet — the gap between Earth's capacity and the actual burden placed on it is enormous.

Forecasts for the future offer little optimism. According to the researchers' estimates, population growth will slow down in the coming decades but will not stop. The peak, which may be reached in the second half of the 21st century, will be approximately 11–12 billion people. With each new billion, the pressure on natural systems will only intensify, threatening to increase global instability.