We evolved in the Savannah.
Rain means the watering holes are filling up, which is obviously good cause we need water, but it also attracts prey animals.
This, of course, was summarized most eloquently at the zenith of human evoloution: the 1982 hit single by Toto clearly stating, “I bless the rains down in Africa.”
I’m still missing something here. For it to be useful, I’d imagine that it would need to inform decisions, and do so where existing senses would fail.
At least in my environment, if I can smell rain, I could also just as easily use my eyes to see the cumulonimbus clouds and say “rain, due east”.
In the savanna are there scenarios where the only awareness of rain would be smelling it? Can you derive directionality at 5 parts per trillion? Does it matter?
The whole continent of Africa (as every other continent) went through several major climate changes, small and big. Pretty sure there were at least five major turnovers from wet to dry climate and back since then, and numerous before.
The North African region was a lush verdant region 11,000 years ago, which is not so long ago considering humans already spread far and wide around that time.
Why would we need such a strong sensitivity to it?
We evolved in the Savannah.
Rain means the watering holes are filling up, which is obviously good cause we need water, but it also attracts prey animals.
This, of course, was summarized most eloquently at the zenith of human evoloution: the 1982 hit single by Toto clearly stating, “I bless the rains down in Africa.”
Oh wow all this time I thought they missed the rains of Africa
Some of those rains went unblessed because someone missed them.
I’m still missing something here. For it to be useful, I’d imagine that it would need to inform decisions, and do so where existing senses would fail.
At least in my environment, if I can smell rain, I could also just as easily use my eyes to see the cumulonimbus clouds and say “rain, due east”.
In the savanna are there scenarios where the only awareness of rain would be smelling it? Can you derive directionality at 5 parts per trillion? Does it matter?
you can smell it coming before you see it imo. that gives you time to get to shelter and to move to where the water/food is
Was that area a desert 250,000 years ago?
The whole continent of Africa (as every other continent) went through several major climate changes, small and big. Pretty sure there were at least five major turnovers from wet to dry climate and back since then, and numerous before.
Fun fact, there are some theories that the Sahara desert was actually caused by over foraging from early goat herding.
So to a degree our ancestors may have already caused some climate change.
Your ape’s first anthropogenic climate disaster.
Republicans and climate science deniers’ favorite fun fact
Wait… What?
Like when they say “cLiMaTe ChAnGe Is NoThInG NeW” and try to tell you “the climate has been changing for thousands of years”
Oh… Dang, I have never heard a climate denier even know about early farming practices in northern Africa to pull that one out and usually I get:
there is no way something as simple as a person or animal could have an impact on something as big as climate!Wild. I didn’t realize they were changing the cope, I guess I got to catch up on the patch notes.
The North African region was a lush verdant region 11,000 years ago, which is not so long ago considering humans already spread far and wide around that time.
Water is life.
Moisture is the essence of wetness and wetness is the essence of beauty
so hot right now
Life is life.
Na, naaa, nanana.
Victory is life
Maybe an evolutionary trait to locate water?
And thirsty herbivores to eat!
my theory is natural selection of humans/human ancestor species. The ones who didn’t find shelter in time before a rain were more likely to die.