Earth’s history REVEALED! What is Ice age? How many have there been? Everything explained

Ice age sounds terrifying and is actually one of the most brutal periods for all forms of life that ever was on the planet. However, it has periods during which things get a lot better. And in fact, if you want to kow whether we are living in an ice age, then just keep reading on. A new study has solved the long-standing mystery of the ice age. But do you know what is an Ice age and what triggers an ice age? If not then don't worry, a new study published in The Conversation (via Space.com) explains all these questions. As per the study, the Earth has had at least five major ice ages and we are currently living in one. However, Earth isn't covered in ice right now as we are in an “interglacial” period where temperatures fluctuate between colder and warmer levels. The first ice age took place about 2 billion years ago and lasted for about 300 million years and the latest one started about 2.6 million years ago and it has still not ended. In fact, Earth is in a period of a warm interglacial period that started some 11,000 years ago. Here's all you need to know about Ice age

What is the ice age?

The ice age is when the Earth has had cold temperatures for a long time like millions to tens of millions of years forming ice sheets and glaciers covering large areas of the planet's surface. There is a period called interglacial during which there are warm and cold periods marked by glaciers melting or expanding repectively.

What causes the ice age?

We all know that Earth usually spins on its axis and revolves around the sun. But the tilt of the Earth, its orbit, and its wobble change a bit over time. These minor changes affect the amount of solar radiation, or insolation, that reaches Earth and hence, it results in colder temperature. During the last glacial period, when the planet was much cooler than it is now and the ice sheets covered most of North America. The average global temperature was about 46 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius)- almost 11 degrees F (6 degrees C) cooler than the current one.

Did humans exist during the ice age?

Well! Our species, Homo sapiens goes back 300,000 years to Africa and thereafter gradually spread across the globe.