In which era, period, and epoch do we live now? (2024)

FAQs

In which era, period, and epoch do we live now? ›

Our current era is the Cenozoic, which is itself broken down into three periods. We live in the most recent period, the Quaternary, which is then broken down into two epochs: the current Holocene, and the previous Pleistocene, which ended 11,700 years ago.

We are living in a time many people refer to as the Anthropocene. Humans have become the single most influential species on the planet, causing significant global warming and other changes to land, environment, water, organisms and the atmosphere.

Flexi Says: We are currently living in the Holocene (sometimes called Recent) epoch, Quaternary period, Cenozoic era, and Phanerozoic eon.

Each eon is made up of around a billion years, and is divided into eras. Eras comprise of several hundred million years and are further divided into periods, comprised of tens to one hundred million years. Periods are further divided into epochs which are made up of tens of millions of years.

In the present time we live in the Holocene epoch, of the Quaternary period, of the Cenozoic era. The earliest of the 3 geological eras, it 540 - 245 million years ago.

By August 2024, we may officially be living in the Anthropocene. “Recognition of the rapidity of this global change within the last 70-odd years would be really significant,” says Turner.

For example, it is the year 2024 as per the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era (the Coptic Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox churches have their own Christian eras).

Currently, we're in the Phanerozoic eon, Cenozoic era, Quaternary period, Holocene epoch and (as mentioned) the Meghalayan age. The IUGS shared an image of the newly named ages in a tweet.

Earth's Geological Timeline Leading Up to the Anthropocene

Over the last 11,700 years, we have been living in the Holocene epoch, a relatively stable period that enabled human civilization to flourish. But after millennia of human activity, this epoch is quickly making way for the Anthropocene.

After more than a generation of significant advances for women, do we still need the Equal Rights Amendment? Yes, we absolutely do. Legal sex discrimination is not yet a thing of the past, and the progress of the past 60 years is not irreversible.

What is an example of epoch era? ›

Epochs are subdivisions of a period and last several million years. Each period is divided into several epochs. For example, the Cenozoic era's Quaternary period is divided into the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs.

: a period of time that is very important in history. The Civil War era was an epoch in 19th-century U.S. history. The development of the steam engine marked an important epoch in the history of industry.

The Phanerozoic Eon is divided into three eras, the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. These were named for the kinds of fossils that were present. The Cenozoic is the youngest era and the name means “new life”. This is because the fossils are similar to animals and plants that are common today.

The four main ERAS are, from oldest to youngest: PreCambrian, Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic.

Holocene Epoch, younger of the two formally recognized epochs that constitute the Quaternary Period and the latest interval of geologic time, covering approximately the last 11,700 years of Earth's history.

We are in the cenozoic era of the quaternary in the holocene epoch.

The official timekeepers of Earth history are in an uproar after a key scientific panel decided this week that the planet's geologic timeline should not include a radical new chapter defined by human impacts: the Anthropocene.

Scientists, journalists, and artists often say that we live in the Anthropocene, a new age in which humans shape the Earth.

The Holocene Epoch (10,000 years ago to the present)

The solar flare as captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on May 9, 2024. The flare has triggered a severe geomagnetic storm watch for the first time in nearly 20 years. Planet Earth is about to get rocked by the biggest solar storm in decades.