END OF THE WORD PREDICTIONS

Not all of these “end of the world predictions” will destroy the planet, but most will remove humanity once and for all. We’ve listed the top 25 predictions based on Likelihood and Impact.

Scientists pretty much know how the actual planet we live on will end and so their end of the world predictions are likely to be accurate. Even in the few centuries that mankind has studied the universe, the science of astronomy has repeatedly shown that eventually the Sun will expand and consume the first three planets of this solar system.

Even if it stops just short of the Earth, the intense heat will destroy every living thing on this little blue world. The good news is that this won’t (or shouldn’t) happen for another several billion years. In geological time humans haven’t even been on this planet for a single second in the 24-hour lifespan of the Earth.

However, the bad news is there are many ways in which the planet could change so radically that the vast majority of people would be unable to survive. There are even some events that could end all life long before our several billion-year window closes.

According to many respected scientists – some of these predictions will definitely occur it’s just a matter of when. In short, the only way that humanity will survive in the very long-term is get off this planet and spread across the universe (a bit like a virus moving from cell-to-cell).

Here we look at the “end of the world predictions” for the way in which humanity (and on occasions the whole world) is likely to end. We’ve ranked these predictions in order of diminishing likelihood.

 1.  TOTAL NUCLEAR WAR

This is still number one and is a well-known prediction for the end of the world (certainly for Humanity) that is both likely and feasible. There are nine countries in the world that admit having atomic weapons and they are often referred to as the Nuclear Club. Five of these countries are classed as Nuclear Weapons States which is a title and status conferred on them by the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

In order of nuclear acquisition, they are the USA, Russia, Britain, France and China. India, Pakistan and North Korea, none of whom are current signatories to the Treaty have all undertaken recent nuclear weapons tests.

It is widely believed that Israel has nuclear weapons as may South Africa. Israel refuses to comment and South Africa states that it manufactured six atomic bombs but has now decommissioned them. There may well be more countries that secretly developed nuclear weapons or acquired them on the black market.

Exact figures are hard to estimate but numbers released by the BBC on 2 May 2000 claimed the world’s stockpile of nuclear weapons amounted to over 42,000 warheads. The good news is that four years later there were apparently a lot less. Today there are around 17,500.

As we can see, there are plenty of “Nukes” still active. We haven’t been able to discover what the total megaton yield of the remaining warheads would be, but it is enough to say that it is still very big indeed.

The end of the world scenario is simple. For unknown reasons, the nuclear powers start using their weapons on each other and ‘MAD’ – or Mutually Assured Destruction – occurs. The devastation from thermonuclear blasts would be bad enough and would send what was left of mankind back to the Stone Age. Worse though would be the ongoing effects of nuclear radiation and nuclear winter. The radiation would engulf the planet on a scale that can’t be imagined. Within 6 months anyon.e who was not “blown up” would be very sick. Within 24 months just about everyone is dead. Disease, residual radiation pockets, starvation, secondary pollutants, poisoned rain, and freezing temperatures will just about finish off humanity. It is very possible that a select few people may survive on stockpiled rations in deep underground bunkers but even they will have to face a radically changed world if they ever return to the surface. Humanity as we know it would be gone

2.   BIOLOGICAL CATASTROPHE / WEAPON

Plagues have always claimed a terrible death toll from the human population. Bubonic plague caused by the bacterium “Yersinia Pestis” claimed an estimated 75 million lives in the 1340’s pandemic alone. The Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918 may have killed up to 100 million people. The Recent COVID19 pandemic claimed well over 4 million lives.

The most lethal of the natural diseases is Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever but fortunately it has never fully erupted outside of Africa although according to the excellent 1994 book the “Hot Zone” by Richard Preston it was accidentally brought to Reston Virginia in the USA but miraculously did not escape the containment laboratory. It was an airborne variation. Ebola outbreaks continue till today. It is not surprising that this ranks high in our list of “End of the World Predictions”.

The Uganda Ministry of Health recently confirmed an outbreak of Ebola in the Bundibugyo area. Samples tested by the United States National Reference Laboratories and the Centres for Disease Control and the World Health Organization confirmed the presence of a new strain of the Ebola virus.

These natural super-diseases are terrifying but because humans have evolved along with these bacteria and viruses there are usually survivors. Even the deadliest of all the natural viruses, the Ebola Filovirus only kills nine out of every ten people.

The real concern is that bio-weapons specialists have been experimenting and there are real concerns that new and deadly strains of Ebola, Anthrax, Smallpox and even Bubonic Plague have been created. These new diseases may well be 100% effective. Only those that were pre-vaccinated before weapons were used would survive and they might not survive the ensuing natural mutations.

This is a very real and terrifying threat to the survival of the human race particularly if the release was unanticipated and accidental. Covid19 has been a terrifying wakeup call for the world mainly because it was a new disease against which we had little natural immunity.

3.   OVER POPULATION PREDICTIONS

In our list of End of the World Predictions, this actually may be the most serious longer-term threat facing humanity. There are just too many people on this planet and the number is getting bigger by the minute. Unpleasant as it may sound, we are the mammal equivalent of locusts. We devour vast amounts, and we are desperately opposed to limiting our numbers. It’s probably an ancient survival instinct. Locust swarms work by consuming everything they can and then die when the food runs out. However, locusts have a survival mechanism we don’t. They can lay eggs that wait until conditions are good and then start again (diapause).

The reason Brood X (cicadas) only appear in the USA once every seventeen years maybe for the exact same principle. Locusts can also breed incredibly fast in the right conditions with one female producing dozens of offspring in just a few weeks.

We humans can’t do that on any serious scale. We would just die. Still, before we did, we would fight each other for the few resources that remain, and we would fight to the death. It would be “Total War” at every level. It’s very possible that those that do survive would be unable to make it on their own.

The only thing we can hope for is that Humanity will somehow change its behaviour before this happens. Strange as it may seem – a plague that wipes out 70% of humanity might actually ensure the survival of our species in the longer-term. Let us put this scenario another way. At the current rate of population growth, it could well be all over in in a thousand years. That’s soon!

4.   A NEW UNKNOWN WEAPON

In this scenario a new type of weapon is created. It might be a Fusion Bomb capable of turning the world into a short-term star, it might be a new form of radiation or it might even be a gravitational weapon that stops the world spinning.

Now while all of these possibilities seem like farfetched science fiction “End of the World Predictions” it is worth noting that so would have nuclear weapons seemed to Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821).

In fact, he probably could not have imagined such a destructive power as even possible. The point is that just 150 years ago people were still using cavalry with lances. So, 100 years from now – who knows? One thing we can be sure of – the Arms Race is still very much alive and well.

5.   COLLAPSE OF THE WORLDWIDE ECOSYSTEM

Most biologists now agree that the worldwide ecosystem is a far more fragile entity than was previously thought. The ecosystem produces the air we breathe and the food that we eat. The ecosystem is also a very complex matrix of interdependent relationships.

The theory states that if mankind continues to destroy the planetary ecosystem, then eventually a “tipping point” or “destructive critical mass” will be reached. Suddenly crops won’t grow because the insects that pollinate them have died off. Believe it or not, there is now a significant shortage of pollinating bees in the USA right now

Pollutants damage the seas, and the food chains fail. Millions of microbiological ecosystems that produce oxygen just disappear. Each small loss creates further losses until the Earth starts to lose its larger species and finally us.

This is a classic example of a huge number of micro-disasters adding up to one big one. The planet would survive and would probably regenerate once the cause (us) was wiped out. In fact, after 50 million years or so it might look quite like it did just before the last major ice age. By then there will be very few traces that we once existed at all. As one of our End of the World Predictions this would be a very nasty way to go.

6.   TOTAL ICE AGE (SNOWBALL EARTH)

According to climatologist the Earth is actually in an Ice Age cycle that fluctuates between warm and cold periods. Currently we are in what is called an interglacial period – the warm time in between the much longer and colder ones.

If the record of ice ages is accurate and consistent, then it’s due to get very much colder in the next few thousand years – maybe starting tomorrow. There is no doubt that with the aid of modern technology humanity could survive. However, a theory that was recently put forward claims that we are heating the planet too fast and that this warming trend will trigger rapid cooling if the desalination of the polar oceans causes the current known as the North Atlantic Current (conveyor belt) to fail. The ice age that follows would be far colder than normal and would destroy civilization in the northern hemisphere.

A film, “The Day After Tomorrow” was released in 2004 and featured this scenario. Now you might think that this is bad, but it gets far worse. Proponents of the Snowball Earth theory suggest that all the extra ice would reflect so much sunlight that each year it would get progressively colder (more snow and ice reflecting sunlight) until the planet transformed into a giant snowball entirely frozen except for a few “slushy” areas around the equator.

If you think that this is farfetched it is worth noting that an increasing number of scientists believe that it has happened at least several times before. They cite it as the only explanation for the type of worldwide sedimentary deposits that have been discovered. It does get warmer again when internals volcanism and increasingly dirty snow allow the planet to warm up. Still, by then we’d be long gone.

7.   ENERGY EXPERIMENT GOES WRONG

Some years ago, there was significant speculation in the media and around dinner tables about what would happen when the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – a gigantic underground particle accelerator used by physicists to study the smallest known particles, was switched on and tested. On 10 September 2008, the LHC circulated its first particle beams but a few days later had to halt operations due to equipment malfunction when faulty magnets triggered a malfunction. The biggest concern is that the LHC will create a microscopic blackhole which will then start getting larger until it destroys the planet. The general consensus of the scientific community is that the LHC is not dangerous although there are still many conspiracy theories circulating about the dangers.   However, there will be other experiments and discoveries in the field of sub-atomic energy that might, just might, one day go horribly wrong.

8.   SUPER VOLCANO

Super volcano concerns first came into public consciousness after the airing of a popular BBC programme, Horizon, the explored the subject. In brief, a Super Volcano is a giant volcano that will generate an eruption in the VEI 7 to VEI 9 category. The threat and existence of these volcanoes was largely overlooked by science until quite recently for three reasons. Firstly, volcanology is a relatively new science and has had a lot of catching up to do. Secondly, these volcanoes don’t appear as mountains or cones. Their eruptions are so gigantic that they collapse back into the crust forming mega calderas that can be overlooked. Thirdly, there have been plenty of more interesting or at least accessible volcanoes to study.

How big is the threat? According to volcanologists it’s big and it’s real. Put another way – the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens was a either a High VEI 4 or a low VEI 5. The blast ejected 1.2 cubic kilometres of rock and ash.

When the Lake Toba super eruption took place only 75,000 years ago it ejected 2,300 cubic kilometres of debris that reached high into the atmosphere. It was 2,000 times as powerful as Mt. St. Helens. An interesting observation is that apparently all (original) Western DNA can be traced back to 7 females and is known as the Near Extinction Bottleneck. It came that close!

In a 1998 article, Stanley Ambrose proposed a hypothesis—a volcanic winter scenario—to explain recent human differentiation. The bottleneck was caused by a volcanic winter resulting from the super-eruption of Toba in Sumatra.

The largest explosive super eruption identified, a VEI 9, took place in Colorado, USA and ejected 5,000km3 of material. Fortunately, it was 28 million years ago and quite some time before humans appeared on the scene. However, in deep-geological-time the event happened yesterday. According to the makers of a TV documentary / drama about the Yellowstone super volcano – we’re already overdue for the next one. Now as end of the world predictions go … that is troubling.

9.   ASTEROID OR METEOR IMPACT

This is a disaster scenario with which many people are already familiar. At least two blockbuster films have been made about the subject – “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact”.

In brief, a meteorite or asteroid of a sufficient size impacts the Earth. If the object is large enough it will create an explosion that could literally generate enough heat to turn burn away the atmosphere, turn millions of square miles of the planet’s surface to molten rock, trigger vast amounts of volcanism, stimulate tsunamis capable of completely covering Cuba and create earthquakes beyond anything measured by science.

A truly big asteroid or small planetoid could literally take the Earth back to the state it was when it was in just formed (the second time) – a molten fiery world devoid of life. It is worth noting that this is the event that created the original planet we live on.

The impact of smaller, but still devastatingly destructive asteroids, has probably occurred several times in the planet’s history. It is the smoking gun for the extinction of the dinosaurs and as recently as 1908 an event occurred over Tunguska in Russia that destroyed 80 million trees and created shock waves that could be felt in London. Had it been four times the size we may not be here today.

Still, the big impacts are exceedingly rare – if they were more common then life could never have evolved as it has. This is a very practical contender to end the world and enough of a threat for governments to set up programmes such as the Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) project to help provide warning of dangerous asteroids and meteorites.

Between the 16th to the 20th of July 1994 various fragments of an asteroid, Shoemaker Levy 9, crashed into the planet Jupiter causing spectacular impact explosions. By the way, if just one of the Shoemaker Levy Nine fragments had hit us then it would have been goodbye humanity in less than 10 minutes.

10.   NEGATIVE ENERGY CLOUD

New predictions for the end of the world just keep on cropping up. This one is called a Negative (Dark) Energy Cloud and there is absolutely no physical evidence for its existence. Still, this could be one of the most real and dangerous threats facing the planet Earth.

The theory goes that the universe is made up of energy in various states and dimensions.  For example, scientists believe that ‘Dark Matter’ makes up 85% of the universe however it is neutral to all forms of electromagnetic radiation and thus invisible to detection. In the standard Lambda-CDM model of cosmology, the total mass–energy of the universe contains 5% ordinary matter and energy, 27% dark matter and 68% of a form of energy known as dark energy.

It has been proposed that our lack of understanding surrounding Dark Matter and Dark Energy could allow for the existence of gigantic energy clouds currently undetectable to science.  These may move independently of the standard dynamics of galaxies and solar systems.  Should a planet enter one of these clouds we would expect to see massive disruption to our use of electricity, natural electromagnetic shield and as a result, rapid and destructive climate change.  Electricity would build up and eventually be released in cataclysmic lighting strikes, increased solar radiation would cause damage to the tissues of living organisms, electronics would fail to work completely, and weather patterns would alter dramatically.  We have no idea what this could do to complex human brains, but it is unlikely to be positive.

11.   MASS GENETIC MUTATION

All living things have genes that are based on DNA that has taken billions of years to evolve into what exists today. Genes do mutate naturally but usually with tiny changes over a long period of time. If they’re “good mutations” then the species improves and evolves as the new mutation is spread through the breeding population. If it’s a “bad mutation” then usually the creature often fails to survive long enough to reproduce.

However, some bad genetic mutations make it through and spread throughout the population. Some horrible genetic weaknesses that made it into the greater human population, and now cause disease, include: Angelman Syndrome, Colour Blindness, Down Syndrome, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Haemophilia, and Sickle-cell Disease. There are more.

Today, thanks to modern genetic engineering, mankind is able to create in a few months the kind of genetic adaptation that might have previously taken a million years. This is unnatural! (not in nature)

The genetic engineers assure us that it’s safe, but many other scientists are deeply concerned. In this scenario a “very bad mutation” makes it into the human population and has a devastating impact. It might trigger a new kind of disease that kills everyone, or it might cause a slower series of mutations that, over time, transform humans into something else that isn’t human anymore. Just remember this – it doesn’t matter how many times the genetic engineers get it right – they only need to get it badly wrong once!

12.   MACHINES & ROBOTS

In the exceptional 1982 film, Blade Runner, (based on the book – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) Harrison Ford discovers that his rather “messed-up” world is under threat from artificial humans that are a fusion of synthetics and bioengineering (Replicants).  In the 1999 film, The Matrix, a man called Neo discovers that he is just a “mind” plugged into a vast network that simulates reality and the world is actually run by machines and robots.

In the science fiction novel “Gravity Dreams” by L. E. Modesitt and published in 2000 – the central character discovers that his world was once nearly destroyed by nanobots – tiny self-replicating machines small enough to live in the cells of human beings. In the 2002 film, I Robot, the world comes close to being taken over by a fantastic artificially intelligent man-made brain that has an army of robots at its command. It’s a common theme.

The science fiction tales are many and often based on science-fact. There are literally dozens of examples. Humans are pushing ever harder to perfect nanotechnology; Japanese robot toys are becoming more intelligent by the year and synthetic body parts are the next big thing in medicine.

This is the scenario. Humans create AI machines (robots) that are stronger and smarter than we are. The machines stop doing what humans want and start doing what they want. Conflict follows – machines win. Terminator movies turn out to be prophecies. Goodbye humans.

13.   TECTONIC MANTLE SLIP

It is completely accepted by science that the crust of the earth floats on a subterranean ocean of molten rock. These tectonic plates move very slowly and are the cause of continental drift. Proponents of the Tectonic Mantle Slip theory believe that there is some evidence to suggest that periodically the entire crust “slips” on the molten core and all the land masses are relocated in different parts of the world. This slip can happen very quickly over a period of just a few months.

The result of a modern-day slip would be catastrophic for humanity. The earthquakes and increased volcanism would just about wipe us out as would the tidal waves, mega-storms, and tsunamis.

However, those that survived would find themselves living in vastly different and unstable climates. Ecosystems would fail and social infrastructure would collapse totally. Desert countries might find themselves washed away by monsoons; fertile farmland could be relocated to Arctic zones. Strangely, our Palaeolithic ancestors who were used to harsh conditions are likely to have survived such a cataclysmic event far better than we would today. Mantle slip was a major feature of the disaster movie – 2012.

14.   GAMMA RAY BURSTS

It is only fairly recently that scientist recognized the threat posed by GRB’s or (Gamma Ray Bursts). These energy emissions were first discovered in the late 1960s by the US “Vela” nuclear test detection satellites.

The most popular theory for the origin of Gamma Ray Bursts is that they are generated by a dying star that is consumed from within by a black hole. As the star finally collapses the phenomenon ejects a massive and deadly burst of Gamma energy. If you’re close to this event – say within a thousand light years, then your planet is toast.

A few fish and cockroaches might survive but to be honest we’re not sure about the fish. If the burst is further away but still within range, then our planet might just lose its ozone layer and experience 10 years of acid rain.

The fact is that nobody is a 100% sure what creates these bursts of super-deadly radiation but there is no doubt they are happening – these events are now recorded by satellites up to several times per day. Fortunately, these are very far away and pretty harmless.  Still, if one was closer, we might not even see it coming.

15.   MOON CATASTROPHE

Many people do not realise how important the moon is to the protection and future survival of this planet. The moon intercepts meteors, creates tides, balances the rotation of the planet and may even keep the core of this planet moving and generating the magnetic shield that protects us from solar radiation.

If for some reason the moon was destroyed the Earth could be left very vulnerable. Some experts claim that the lack of a moon would create such chaos that humanity would be exterminated while other experts say that it would definitely be a problem but not an Extinction Level Event (ELE) unless a big enough part of the moon fell back onto the Earth.

Is the destruction of the moon possible? The answer is yes. Between the 16th to the 20th of July 1994 an asteroid, Shoemaker Levy 9 crashed into the planet Jupiter. Had this object impacted the moon (8,000 times smaller) then it could have split the moon into two smaller molten moons that could have well drifted away.

Is it possible? The answer is yes. Is it likely? No. The good news is that the Moon has been around for billions of years and it hasn’t happed yet.

16.   (NEW) COLLIDING DIMENSIONS / THE NEXT BIG BANG

There has not been much written about this possible ending for two reasons. Firstly, the science behind it is very theoretical, hard to explain and even harder to follow. Secondly, it hasn’t happened anywhere we can see even with our most powerful telescopes and star watching instruments. This is a very simplified explanation.

We, and everything else in our universe, exist in a dimension. There are other dimensions even if you don’t understand or believe in them. When they collide, they create vast amounts of energy and matter. The result is probably a “Big Bang” exactly like the one that created everything our universe.

This End of the World theory is that if this is true then at any time and in any place, there could suddenly be a second “Big Bang” event. This would naturally have devastating consequences for any physical matter (Us, the World, Galaxies etc.) that already existed.

17.   ALIEN INVASION

There are billions of stars in the universe and recent science has shown that many of these have planets that orbit them. This could mean that there are trillions (maybe zillions) of planets out there. It is almost a statistical impossibility that none of these supports intelligent life. We know of at least one – us.

However, according to Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity – nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. This means that even if there are aliens living in nearby star systems it would take decades or even millennia for them to reach us.

Of course, it is possible that these aliens have found a way around this problem and can zip across to Earth as easily as we visit the local supermarket but it’s just very unlikely. In this scenario these pesky “zipping” and incredibly advanced aliens decide that they want our world and don’t want us hanging around asking for free healthcare and the secrets of the universe.

Basically, they don’t come in peace, see us as vermin, and wipe us out.  Not in the flashy planet busting way that makes such good sci-fi movies but swiftly and effectively with nerve toxins, biological agents and radiation.

18.   THE UNIVERSAL SWITCH OFF

This is a very simple theory. In the beginning there was nothing (absolutely no single thing) and then there was something. Scientists call this event the “Big Bang”. We know this happened because we can actually hear the echoes of this event with our most powerful telescopes. It happened about 10 billion years ago.

The foundation of this theory states that if something can be created from nothing – “The Great Switch On” – then just as easily it could be “Switched Off” – something into nothing. Don’t be fooled into dismissing this theory because it is simple – this could well be the most dangerous threat to all existence and not just our lonely little planet. Please take note – the great and unexplainable “Switch On” is a universally accepted scientific event – it happened. However, according to Isaac Newton: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

19.   ROGUE BLACK HOLE

In this theory a black hole (the incredibly dense heart of a dead star) enters our solar system. At first it would really stir up the asteroid belt so the chances are Earth would be destroyed by a meteor or asteroid long before eventually being swallowed by the black hole. They say it could happen at any time because black holes – particularly the smaller ones – can be very hard to spot as not even light can escape their massive gravity.

Fortunately, many mainstream scientists and astronomers are very sceptical and firmly believe that if there was a black hole close enough to be a threat, they’d have noticed it by now. Still, if we are considering a much longer period – say hundreds of millions of years then it is just as likely as any other theory.

20.   WAR OF THE SEXES

The basic concept was featured in the 1976 book “A World out of Time” by Larry Niven – a much respected futurologist and science fiction writer. Basically, there is a conflict between the human X & Y chromosome and the males and females of our species simply cannot produce any more children. Females solve this problem through self-reproduction (a form of hermaphrodism that already exists) and, over time, become a separate species on their own. Males die out. Something would survive but it would not be humanity as we know it. Sounds silly? Not really.  Male fertility across the globe is falling and society is already rethinking its perception of gender as never before.

21.   GLIESE 710

Apparently, GLIESE 710 is a small red dwarf star that is heading our way. It will arrive in about 1.3 billion years and if it passes through our solar system then it is very possibly goodbye planet Earth.

Just so you know – it may be small, but it is still 50 times the size of our planet. It will also disrupt just about every rock and asteroid in the region. So even if GLIESE 710 is a close miss we’re still space debris thanks to all those disturbed asteroids. Will it hit our solar system? At the moment it’s a 1 in 50 chance but that’s still not good when that one chance means total annihilation. The good news – it’s so long in the future that nobody cares.

22.   ANTIMATTER

This option may well deserve to be ranked higher, particularly as science seems determined to prod this concept until something nasty happens. First off – is there really something called antimatter –the opposite of matter?

According to CERN, yes there is and during 1995 they announced that they had successfully created nine antihydrogen atoms by implementing the SLAC/Fermilab concept during the PS210 experiment. The experiment was performed using the Low Energy Antiproton Ring (LEAR), and was led by Walter Oelert and Mario Macri. Fermilab soon confirmed the CERN findings by producing approximately 100 antihydrogen atoms at their facilities.

The problem was that these 1995 antimatter particles were “hot” (a disturbing term) and not that suitable to study.

Put simply, when antimatter and matter neutralise each other vast amounts of energy could potentially be released. Enough energy to destroy a planet. The very good news is that it is incredibly expensive and difficult to produce this stuff.

23.   ARMAGEDDON

According to various religious beliefs, particularly the Christian Church, God will eventually end the world and the “good’ will go to Heaven and the “evil” will go to Hell. Believers call this the Rapture. It was supposed to happen just over a decade ago and again as recently as the 21st of May 2011. Nothing happened then and nothing happened in 2012 with the end of the Mayan calendar.  Naturally, people have been a bit reluctant to set a date for this to happen in the future.

In the Book of Revelation, God, ushering in the Great Tribulation judgments, commands seven angels to pour “seven vials of the wrath of God” upon the Earth. Those that are deeply religious believe that this will happen soon. Others claim its nonsense.

24.   ANDROMEDA

According to the New Scientist Space (14 May 2007) in approximately 2 billion years the Andromeda Galaxy will nearly collide with our own galaxy – the Milky Way. During this time, the gravitation effects of this near miss could cause havoc with our own solar system causing either a world ending cataclysm or, according to others, nothing at all. Nobody is very sure what will happen, but it is more than likely to be unpleasant. Fortunately, two billion years is a long time so right now no one is losing any sleep over this future cosmic collision.

25.   EXPANSION OF THE SUN

As we mentioned right at the start of this article even Suns (stars) have a lifespan. Eventually our Sun will finish consuming the hydrogen fuel that keeps it nice and yellow and start a series of convulsions that will see it transform into a huge red giant. The sun will grow so large that it will probably consume Mercury and Venus and may or may not consume Earth before it finally collapses. It doesn’t really matter because the increase in temperature will certainly burn the entire surface of our planet to a cinder and may even turn it to molten rock again. This is always assuming that the Earth has managed to survive several other possible “end of the world” disasters that could end it all before this happens.

Still, the planet has survived so far and if it was a human, it would already be in its late 30’s. How long will Humanity survive is a much more relevant question? The people of this planet, both from developed and undeveloped nations, are consuming our precious few resources and destroying the environment – our habitat – at rate never before experienced. It’s just not sustainable. The truth is that the planet will survive for a long time to come but people might not. See the section Ten Real Ways to save humanity!

In reality, the biggest threat to Humanity is … Human beings!