There are many omens, predictions and theories that speak of the end of the world and that have caused diverse reactions in millions of people, believers or not. As happened with the much publicized and expected December 21, 2012, the date that the Mayans designated as the final day of the Earth and luckily didn’t happen. And while you can’t be sure exactly when and how the end of the world will happen, let’s discuss some ways this could happen:
Galaxy Clash: The first of the forms that we present is the one wielded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which supports that within approximately four billion years, our Milky Way may collide with Andromeda, our closest galaxy. And although many of us might think that it takes a long time for this to happen, this is relative, as time is said to be.
Even more so if you believe in reincarnation, for example, who assures you that you will not be on earth those days, living another life in another body but with the same soul and essence? Undoubtedly, they are complex issues that we can analyse at another time, but it is one of the ways in which the end of the world could occur and, worse still, of two galaxies. What would be left then?
A lethal virus: One way in which the end of the world could occur and is believed to be much closer and more probable is the spread of a deadly virus that kills humans without the need to destroy the planet as such. Advances in science and biology in particular bring many benefits to humans, but could also be the reason for their destruction because in a laboratory, such a virus could be created.
The dangerous thing is that accidentally or previously designed, a devastating virus is created that kills us in a short time and annihilates the world population in the end; statements made by the famous physicist Stephen Hawking in 2001 who supported that a pandemic could spread that would devastate the human race and therefore cause the end of the world.
This event has been presented and described in television series such as “The Walking Dead”, in novels of “World War Z” style, controversial films such as “Twelve Monkeys”, and even in video games such as “Resident Evil”. We might think that this is all fiction, but we could also ask ourselves: How many things that are part of our lives today seemed like science fiction decades ago? Does this look like what we are living with the coronavirus today? Will this be our end?
World War III: The threat of World War III has been latent for decades, even since World War II ended in 1945 and which was sealed with the dropping of nuclear bombs in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
Currently scientific and technological advances have given way to remote-controlled missiles, and by just pushing a button entire cities would be eliminated; in addition to the existence of world leaders eager for power who try to eliminate the enemy to remain as the main world powers, and that is why they keep creating more nuclear missiles and biological weapons. Without a doubt, this is a very likely way for the end of the world to occur.
The worrying climate change: The activities of human beings have caused the climate to change, causing global warming due to the progressive destruction of the ozone layer. The main causes of this are pollution in its different forms and the overexploitation of natural resources, which have resulted in a thawing of the poles which in turn causes the level of the seas and oceans to rise, extinguishing some species.
On the other hand, climate change is causing food and water shortages, as well as an increase in death rates in lots of countries due to storms, floods, excessive heat and droughts; effects that could worsen in the coming years if this process at the poles of the earth does not stop. Without a doubt, they are compelling reasons why this phenomenon could be one of the causes of the end of the world.
The fall of a meteorite: Much has been said about the probability of a meteor hitting the earth; phenomenon that, according to scientists, was the cause of the extermination of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. And who assures us that this could not happen again; as stated in the movie Armageddon, in which there was a happy ending when the meteorite was exploded before it collided with the planet? Many specialists on the subject believe that emigration to another planet would be the solution.
However, for this emigration to occur, there must be another planet with the same characteristics as the earth, which would guarantee the support of life. But another limitation arises, which is the technology to transport humans in a short period of time through the galaxy, without knowing yet what the distance would be.
Going back to the present, NASA recently detected a huge asteroid called 1998 OR2, which is 1.7 kilometres long and 4.1 kilometres wide, which would approach Earth on April 29, 2020, and has been classified as potentially dangerous, being large enough to cause global effects. Although NASA has confirmed that there would be no collision, this announcement has made that on social networks and different media the rumour has it that it could impact the earth. But, we ask ourselves, could this be possible in the future?
Alien invasion: Millions of people, including scientists like Stephen Hawking, believe that we are not the only ones and that there is more intelligent life in the universe, beings who could be observing us from space, and even be among us since a long time. So there is a probability that a global war against beings from other galaxies will be unleashed in the future, and that this will bring about the end of the world.
Artificial intelligence: The rise of artificial intelligence is surprising, and every day we observe how the famous laws of robotics of Isaac Asimov are present in our lives by seeing how robots are created to do work for human beings.
But surely some of us have asked ourselves: How far will artificial intelligence be able to go? What will happen if one day the robots surpass us? What if they rebel against us? Could this be a way to the end of the world happen? This is how it is stated in movies like Terminator and “Matrix”, where the great power of the artificial intelligence was highlighted, as Stephen Hawking, along with other scientists, warned in 2014.
ALFA