Have you ever watched the news and felt like
the end of the world was near? Well, you're not alone. It's eerie how many things in the news potentially
point to the apocalypse. While many have tried and failed to predict
the end of the world in the past, it seems like today might actually bring about the
real thing. From advancing artificial intelligence and
genetic engineering to rising political upheaval and tensions between global superpowers, humanity
adds more potentially disastrous things to the list every day, and it's pretty terrifying. By the end of this list, you'll likely have
a real desire to build a bunker and stockpile rations. I'm Mike with List25 and Here are 25 Frightening
Signs The End Of The World Is Near. 25. Doomsday Clock
Every year, a team of scientists makes a report on how close the world is to destruction. It's called the Doomsday Clock. Their most recent report in 2018 indicated
we're two minutes to midnight due to the failure of world leadership to quell nuclear tensions. In comparison, in 1991, the report indicated
they were 17 minutes to midnight. 24. Post-Truth Politics
For a long time, newspapers, nightly news on television, and academic experts were a
trusted source for information. However, since the 2016 election and the rise
of "fake news," politicians have created a "Post Trust" world where facts and verified
information no longer matter. Without facts, anything can be true in anyone's
mind, causing liberal democracies to fall apart and people's civil rights to crumble,
leading to more tyranny. 23. Wealthy Preppers
The super-rich have more money than they know what to do with. In this case, they're spending billions on
preparing for the end of the world, building high-tech bunkers under houses and buying
up tons of land in New Zealand. For instance, Peter Theil bought property
and even citizenship there and Reddit CEO Steve Huffman got Lasik so that he wouldn't
have to worry about glasses in the apocalypse. 22. Religious Persecution
Christians believe mass religious persecution will be a sign of the end times. According to a Yale study, 50 million people
from the Middle East and Asia have been displaced largely due to religious persecution back
in their home countries. Also, a Pew Research Center study indicated
that in 2015, Christians were harassed by governments and social groups in more than
128 countries, more than any other religious group. 21. Arctic Melting
The Arctic and Antarctic polar regions are paramount to a healthy world climate, but
the ice is melting at dramatic and surprising rates which could cause a catastrophe if it
reaches too low of levels. Scientists have used satellites to monitor
the ice for 20 years and have seen a five-fold rate of ice loss since 1990. The thickness of the Arctic ice has also decreased
by 40% since 1960. Scientists predict the Arctic could be without
ice by 2040. 20. Rise of Authoritarianism
From Russian leader Vladamir Putin to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, autocrats have always been
in the world. However, there's a real fear that Authoritarianism
will continue to spread into the West, suppressing liberal democracies' influence in the world
and instead, hailing bullies and tyrants. Delegitimizing democracy and promoting nationalism
and authoritarianism could lead to wide-scale persecution, removal of civil rights, and
war. 19. Rising Tension Among Global Powers
The United States, Russia, and China have been increasingly at odds with each other
in recent years, and the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine have tested Russian and US boundaries. In the meantime, China continues to build
man-made islands as military bases in contested waters and pushes its weight around in Southeast
Asia. Rising tension and a poorly calculated political
move could spark World War III, meaning nuclear holocaust and millions dead. 18. Antibiotic Resistance
For decades, antibiotics have been a saving grace in the medical world, capable of curing
many deadly diseases and saving millions of lives. However, in recent years, due to misuse and
overuse of antibiotics, certain bacteria have shown resistance to the drugs, evolving into
"superbugs" with no known cure. If these strains all became fully resistant,
antibiotics would virtually become useless, throwing society back hundreds of years with
the potential for millions of lives lost. 17. Super Volcano
It might sound like something out of a bad movie on Netflix, but supervolcanoes, more
formally known as calderas, are very real ticking time bombs for the planet. Yellowstone, for example, is a beautiful and
majestic park in the United States housing one of these time bombs. Geologists say Yellowstone's volcano is capable
of an eruption a thousand times more powerful than Mount Saint Helens and could blanket
the US in ash and trigger a new ice age. With the recent eruption on Kilauea, many
wonder if Yellowstone is next. 16. Surveillance State
The internet has provided the world with many benefits, including better communication tools,
new markets, and, you know, cat memes. Regrettably, it also created a mass surveillance
state across the globe. With the revelations from Wikileaks and Edward
Snowden on government surveillance to the recent Facebook data scandal, it's become
clear privacy doesn't really exist anymore. Without more laws protecting private citizens,
an oppressive government could easily destabilize society and undermine liberal democracy. 15. A Looming Ice Age
A professor from Northumbria University named Valentina Zharkova postulated that changes
in temperatures from the sun could plunge the Earth into a new Ice Age between 2020
to 2050. She believes the Sun goes through cycles with
the amount of heat it produces. It's believed this happened before between
1645 and 1700. 14. 2000 SG344
The end of the world has a name and it's called 2000 SG344. Okay, arguably that's not the most inventive
or dramatic name. It is, however, an asteroid headed our way. Astronomers and scientists around the world
verified that there's a chance Earth and this asteroid could collide on September 21st,
2030. NASA is planning a manned mission out to the
asteroid to land on it around 2030 as a stepping stone to reaching Mars. 13. Flu Pandemic
The last flu pandemic was the Spanish Flu, killing 500 million people around the world. That was almost 100 years ago. Bill Gates and medical experts have sounded
the alarm that we are due for another flu pandemic, and we're sorely unprepared. With the amount of mass transportation available
in the world, including airplanes, boats, and trains, an unstoppable flu virus could
spread like wildfire and kill 30 million people in a matter of months. 12. Joblessness Due to Artificial Intelligence
It's no secret artificial intelligence is advancing at a staggering rate. With better automation, experts predict one-third
of US workers will be jobless by 2030. 800 million workers will be displaced globally. Physical jobs are the most likely to be replaced
with automation, including operating machinery and preparing fast food. With widescale unemployment, the division
between wealthy and poor will only increase, leading to dramatic societal unrest and poverty. 11. Another Great Depression
Predicting or seeing the signs of another Great Depression is no easy feat, but recently
some experts have sounded the alarm, saying we're headed toward one. Mark Yusko, CEO of Morgan Creek Capital, has
made this prediction, believing things are flowing in the same way they did when the
first Great Depression struck. Of course, even mass unemployment due to artificial
intelligence could be a major cause. 10. Killer Robots
The advancement of artificial intelligence won't just kill your job, it might kill you,
too. A new arms race is already underway with global
superpowers working to create autonomous drones and weaponry that can analyze data and make
a decision to kill. While some might argue this will make warfare
less bloody if artificial intelligence somehow attained consciousness, it could also mean
the end of humanity. 9. Genetic Engineering Catastrophe
Advanced genetic engineering tools like CRISPR have been hailed as a new a technology to
cure cancer and eradicated birth defects. However, by effectively tampering with the
human genome, we could inadvertently cause tons of problems, including creating a superhuman
race that'll persecute and potentially kill the old or designing an unstoppable virus. 8. Solar Flare
150 years ago, a massive solar flare hit the Earth. Back then with little electronic technology,
the damage was insignificant. However, scientists believe we could be due
for another anytime, and if it does occur, it'll be catastrophic for society because
the flare will knock out the Earth's electrical grid, causing trillions of dollars in damage. With our society dependent on computers, it's
fairly easy to imagine chaos ensuing. 7. Potential Contact with Extraterrestrials
It's a hard thing to imagine, but there's a possibility we could make contact with extraterrestrials. In fact, our technological advances make it
even more likely. Some scientists believe we could potentially
make contact within the next decade. While this might sound exciting, it could
also lead to a total cataclysm of the Earth. If the extraterrestrials are more advanced
than we are, then they'll likely wipe us out. There's also the threat that they could bring
new diseases. 6. World Ending Cyber Attack
With the internet becoming part of our everyday lives, cyber attacks are more common than
ever. From stealing credit cards to personal information,
hackers continue to become more crafty. In 2017, a cyber attack hit more than 150
countries in a never-before-seen attempt that crippled the world's largest institutions. One can imagine it's only a matter of time
before something else is released and it's successful in taking down the entire system. 5. Ecosystem Collapse
The world's climate is drastically changing, causing unprecedented famine, droughts, and
floods in unexpected places. With such drastic changes in the environment,
entire species of plants and animals could go extinct, causing a collapse of the ecosystem. Using satellites, scientists have said this
process has already begun. 4. Science Mistake
With the growing advancement of scientific knowledge, scientists wield a tremendous amount
of power. From the Hadron Collider to building artificial
intelligence, we're now nearing a point where all it could take is one mistake from a lab
for everything to go wrong and destroy the world. While you might think there's plenty of controls
in place to prevent something like that from happening, scientists have made plenty of
mistakes in the past. 3. Nanotechnology Catastrophe
Nanotechnology is an up-and-coming new tech that utilizes tiny robots to carry out specific
functions. Scientists hope this could help cure and prevent
diseases. However, they also fear it could wipe out
all of life on Earth by self-replicating and devouring everything in its path in what is
known as the "Grey Goo Scenario." 2. Mass Insanity
Despite having never-before-seen comfort in many developed nations, the world is increasingly
developing more mental disorders, like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorders. The World Health Organization stated that
300 million people worldwide have depression, an increase of 18% from 2005. If mental disorders continue to rise, and
they're left stigmatized, ignored, and untreated, the world would easily become destabilized. 1. The Simulation Ends
It might sound strange, like tinfoil-hat level of strange, but a growing consensus has been
forming in the technology industry that we could be living in a computer simulation. Called the Simulation Hypothesis, it postulates
that we're nearing a time where humans can realistically simulate life on Earth using
advanced computers. If that is the case, there's a chance it's
already happened, and we're living inside one of those simulations. This hypothesis also states that the simulation
will eventually end when we reach the point of creating our own simulation. So, the end of the world could just be a simulation
rebooting. So, how do you think the world will meet its
end? Let us know in the comments below, or tweet
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