Do climate change monsters have a dozen tentacles and a thirst for blood?
Do climate change monsters have a dozen tentacles and a thirst for blood? Public Domain

Our fear of the bomb created Godzilla. Now, climate change is bringing us closer to doomsday. Our changing world will doubtless inspire fictional monsters—but what will they look like?

When I imagine a monster brought about by climate change, I think about what happens when ecosystems are allowed to run rampant. As I’m afraid of deep water, and the things that live there, my climate change monster probably lives in the sea. It’s huge and primordial—a kind of reptilian, shark thing, brought to the ocean’s surface by fish die-off deep, deep underwater, where it ordinarily lives. (Perhaps it’s been lured upwards by an incredible buffet of jellyfish, whose population have exploded due to rising ocean temperatures.) And heck, with the threat of nuclear warfare hanging over us like a dust cloud, let’s give it a post-nuclear kick—it’s got two tails, and far more eyes than anything really needs.

We want to imagine some other Atlas Obscura climate change monsters, and we need your help. Where will the climate monster come from? Where does it live? What will it do? Use your imagination (we’d love inspiration from any children who might want to join in) and send all ideas to [email protected] by Thursday, January 25, 2018. We’ll illustrate some of our favorites.