Scientists are concerned about various dangerous scenarios that could cause damage to Earth, and could even lead to the apocalypse. These scenarios are often told in science fiction films.
Even though these films are just fiction, scientifically there are certain conditions either due to nature or the result of human actions that can destroy the world. Here are some doomsday scenarios based on the view of science as quoted from Science Alert.
1. Global warming
Many scientists say global warming and climate change are the biggest threats facing the planet. Climate change can make extreme weather more severe, increase droughts in some areas, change the distribution of animals and disease around the world, and cause low-lying areas of the planet to sink due to rising sea levels.
All of these changes can lead to political instability, severe drought, famine, ecosystem collapse, and other changes that make Earth a very inhospitable place to live in.
2. Asteroids
Asteroid threats are often the "mainstay" of the cause of the end of the world in science fiction films. Beyond that, scientists are concerned that rocks from outer space could hit and annihilate Earth.
This planet was hit by an asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. History also records the Tunguska event, the fall of a meteoroid that scorched 2,000 square kilometers of Siberian forest in 1908.
3. The threat of a pandemic
New deadly pathogens emerge every year, starting from SARS, avian flu, MERS, and what we are experiencing right now, SARS-CoV-2, the cause of the deadly COVID-19 that claimed millions of lives worldwide. Because of our highly interconnected global economy, deadly diseases can spread rapidly. The threat of a global pandemic is so real.
4. Mushrooms
In addition to the threat of harmful viruses and bacteria, there is also the threat of fungi which is even more frightening and can be deadly.
"The Earth has a new amphibian fungal disease that is having a devastating effect," said David Wake, curator at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley of the chytrid fungus that once wiped out frogs across the United States.
Fungi that are just as fatal to humans can be catastrophic, even in spite of deadly bacteria and antibiotics abound. The reason is, we know very little about the treatment of fungal infections when compared to diseases caused by viruses and bacteria.
5. Engineered disease
In addition to natural diseases, there are also engineered diseases that are no less frightening. In 2011, the world scientific community was outraged that a group of researchers engineered a mutant version of the H5N1 bird flu that could be transmitted to ferrets and transmitted through the air. This engineered result has sparked fears that this purposefully crafted deadly disease could leak from the laboratory or be accidentally released and trigger a global pandemic.
6. Nuclear war
The vast stockpile of nuclear weapons around the world can wreak havoc if they fall into the wrong hands. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) behind the Doomsday Clock said Earth was still on the verge of doomsday in 2021 due to the potential for nuclear war, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and rampant hoaxes.
BAS researchers determined that this year's Doomsday Clock hand was still the same as in 2020, which was 100 seconds away from midnight. That means, the symbolic clock shows humanity's closest point to the apocalypse. In 2019, the position of the doomsday clock is 2 minutes to midnight. Midnight or 00.00 is a symbol of the end of time.
7. Robot awakening
Like in the movie "The Terminator", killing machines are now getting closer to reality. The United Nations recently called for a ban on the creation of killer robots, responding to experts' concerns that several countries are developing them.
Many computer scientists think the singularity, the point where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, is very close. Whether the robots will be benevolent helpers or harm to humanity is debatable. But the potential that these armed hyperintelligent robots could threaten humans remains.
8. Overpopulation
The fear of an overpopulated Earth has been around since the 18th century, when economist Thomas Malthus predicted that population growth would lead to mass starvation and burden the planet. With a global population reaching 7 billion and growing, many conservationists think that population growth is one of the main threats to Earth.
However, not everyone agrees with this opinion. Many also think that population growth will stabilize in the next 50 years, and that humanity will innovate to overcome the negative consequences of overcrowding.
9. Snowball effect
Each of the aforementioned scenarios can indeed happen. But most scientists think the snowball effect of some events is more likely. For example, global warming can increase the prevalence of pathogens while causing widespread climate change.
It is possible that the collapse of an ecosystem can make it difficult to produce food, for example due to the absence of bees to pollinate crops, or trees to filter agricultural water. So instead of a single major catastrophe, several relatively small but impactful factors could worsen life on Earth until it gradually degrades and disintegrates.