worldly concern is the only planet we know of that has ever had a fervency . While there may be volcanos pushing out spicy magma on the aerofoil ofVenus , the hottest satellite in the Solar System , there has never been a fire there . Nor on Mercury , nor Jupiter , nor any of the other planets surrounding our or any other maven .
In fact , for jillion of old age of the Earth ’s history , there was n’t any fire either . It take billions of age before the condition for fire were possible , with the planet ’s first inhabitants living in a world without flack for long than it ’s possible to ideate . While volcano would have produced " fervor fountains " like those likely produce on Io – and there may have been the odd flame from a gassyvolcanobelch – this is magma being forced up and sprayed out a vent , rather than literal fire .
Around 2.4 billion years ago , the Earth ’s atmosphere was likely a compact fog of methane , the result of bacterial living go forth on the planet . Then theGreat Oxidation Eventhappened , where ancient cyanobacteria lead off to produce energy from sunlight , releasing oxygen into the atmosphere . Here , molecular oxygen get to accumulate in the atmosphere for the first time , though still not in enough concentration for combustion to take place . The Great Oxidation Event , sometimes known as the Oxygen Catastrophe , likely plunged the Earth into aworldwide bass freezeas this oxygen destabilized methane , net it and collapse itsgreenhouse effect . The Earth became cold-blooded , as well as fireless .
The first fossil record we have of fire comes from the Middle Ordovician period , trillion of twelvemonth subsequently . In terms of fire , there is a sweet spot . Any lower than13 pct oxygen , and plant matter will not burn . Any higher than 35 percent it will blow up so well that forests would not be able to grow and sustain themselves .
In the Ordovician period 470 million old age ago , the first land flora – mosses and liverworts – bring out more oxygen , eventually create enough concentration of it to bring down fire upon themselves . finally , around 420 million geezerhood ago , we have the first dodo grounds of fire on Earth , charcoalfound in rocks from this period . However , with oxygen levels still fluctuating wildly , the first extensive wildfire did n’t take piazza until around383 million year ago . And fire have been a real jerk ever since .
An earlier version of this clause was published inOctober 2023 .
