Curious Cases Planetary Wobble
Dec 5, 2025
Professor Rebecca Kilner, an evolutionary biologist at Cambridge, discusses how the absence of seasons would dramatically alter animal life, emphasizing the impact on breeding and cooperation among species. Aidan McGivern, a senior weather presenter at the Met Office, provides a simulated forecast for a world without tilt, envisioning expansive deserts and tundras. They explore how these changes could affect evolutionary trajectories and whether dinosaurs would thrive differently in a seasonless Earth. The conversation is a fascinating blend of climate science and evolutionary theory.
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Tilt Shapes The Habitable Band
- Zero axial tilt removes seasons and shrinks the globally habitable "Goldilocks" land band.
- Dr Robin Smith's climate model shows expanded deserts and larger glaciated regions making much less land suitable for life.
Ocean Circulation Overrides Simple Latitude Effects
- Loss of the Atlantic overturning circulation cools Western Europe and can turn the UK into tundra-like conditions.
- Robin Smith warns that such circulation shutdowns amplify regional cooling beyond simple seasonal loss.
Perpetual Storm Season At Mid-Latitudes
- Removing seasons enhances equator-to-pole temperature contrast and strengthens mid-latitude jet and storms year-round.
- Aidan McGivern explains this would create constant deep low-pressure systems hitting places like the UK.