Complex life won’t survive the shiftThe consequences for life on Earth would be devastating. Humans and other oxygen-dependent species could not survive in an atmosphere with such low oxygen levels. The study suggests that oxygen levels could eventually drop to a million times lower than they are today, effectively suffocating most forms of life. The researchers estimate the first measurable drop in oxygen levels could happen in roughly 10,000 years. Earth’s eventual loss of oxygen won’t directly affect our species, which is unlikely to be around in a billion years.