What If All the Mountains on Earth Disappeared?

Everest, the Alps, the Andes, the Truong Son range – imagine all of them gone, leaving a smooth, flat planet. What would really change? In this animated explainer we look at how mountains create rivers and store water in snow and glaciers, how they squeeze rain out of clouds and create rain shadows, their role in the Asian monsoon, wind and weather, mountain biodiversity hotspots, the billion-plus people who live in or depend on mountains, travel, soil and erosion, long-term climate effects – and whether mountains would ever rise again. ⏱ Chapters 0:00 A world without mountains 0:34 The rules 1:08 From space: almost the same 1:43 Where rivers come from 2:56 Mountains make rain 3:54 The Asian monsoon 4:42 Wind and weather 5:20 Mountain life and biodiversity 6:15 People of the mountains 7:02 Easier travel? 7:39 Lowlands lose their soil 8:16 Long-term climate 8:57 Would mountains come back? 9:45 Summary Note: this is a thought experiment. Effects on monsoons and climate are based on modeling studies and remain debated (for example, the role of the Tibetan Plateau versus the Himalaya). 📚 Sources & further reading Boos & Kuang (2010), Nature – dominant control of the South Asian monsoon by orographic insulation Viviroli et al. (2007), Water Resources Research – mountains as 'water towers' of humanity Immerzeel et al. (2020), Nature – importance and vulnerability of the world's water towers Antonelli et al. (2018), Nature Geoscience; Rahbek et al. (2019), Science – mountain biodiversity FAO – Mountain Partnership: people living in mountain regions Raymo & Ruddiman (1992), Nature – tectonic forcing of late Cenozoic climate 💬 Which mountain would you miss the most? Tell us in the comments! #mountains #whatif #science #geography #animation #explained