Global disasters can happen fast. Sometimes they’re man-made, like the 2008 credit crisis, and sometimes they’re natural, like COVID-19. Experts do their best to alert us but, as in the case of the climate crisis, sometimes their warnings go unheard for years.
One person recently asked an online community, “What’s a ticking time [explosive] you believe will explode during your lifetime?”, and netizens were only too happy to weigh in. Here’s a collection of their most disturbing predictions.
More info: Reddit
The “subscription everything” model becoming completely unsustainable for the average person. Software, entertainment, heated seats in a car, grocery delivery… Eventually, people’s incomes just won’t be able to handle a thousand tiny monthly payments. Something’s gotta give.
Kessler syndrome.
It’s basically a runaway effect of debris in orbit. The more debris, the more likely for catastrophic collisions causing more debris, and that debris causing more collisions. All until space becomes inaccessible due to billions of untrackable pieces of metal hurtling around the planet at tens of thousands of miles an hour.
Sometimes the world feels like it’s teetering on the edge of a sci-fi disaster movie. However, the truth is many scientists warn that potential crises are not only possible, they might already be unfolding. From climate chaos to other man-made catastrophes, here are some looming disasters that could dramatically reshape humanity’s future.
One of the biggest threats we face is climate change, which is no longer a distant problem but a present reality. Rising global temperatures are causing stronger hurricanes, longer heatwaves, and devastating floods. Experts warn that unless drastic action is taken, entire regions could become uninhabitable within decades, forcing millions to migrate.
AI misuse .
A-Bone replied:
Frank Hebert’s Dune was set in a universe where ‘thinking machines’ had been banned.
Back in the day it seemed like Sci-fi goofiness..
Sure seems like we could easily see a time where its a legit threat to a number of critical services humanity relies on for basic functioning (infrastructure management, data systems, historical record keeping, etc.)
Hopefully Betelgeuse as a Super Nova. I’d really like to witness that.
Edit: I understand the timeline aspect of this.
The fight for fresh water.
ejwestcott replied:
Yes this will eventually be a crisis. Not a conspiracy theory but I think a lot of powerful folks know this and are maneuvering to control it.
Next up: supervolcanoes. While normal eruptions already wreak havoc, supervolcanoes like Yellowstone could unleash ash clouds covering continents, block out the sun, and plunge the world into a volcanic winter. Scientists say the odds of this happening soon are slim, but the potential impact makes it one of the scariest possibilities.
Then there’s the risk of another global pandemic. COVID-19 reminded us how fragile modern systems really are. Experts fear a deadlier, more contagious virus could emerge, overwhelming healthcare, collapsing economies, and testing international cooperation. The scary part? Many scientists believe it’s not “if,” but “when.”
There is a lot of anger out there. When I was a kid growing up or even as a young adult, I didn’t see this type of anger where people are so angry that they really could hurt someone over a minor incident. Things that are said, things that people have actually done indicates that this anger is on the rise. The anger is not from one specific issue but several different issues.
Most of the time, it been mostly talk, little action but I fear that those who are so angry are going to commit acts of violence against other people who they see as the enemy. The type of person is very dangerous to anyone they come into contact with.
The housing market bubble in the US.
House prices are through the roof, if 2008 was any indication there will be massive turmoil once the bubble pops.
Artificial Intelligence is another wildcard. While AI has brought with it incredible innovations, some researchers warn of potential existential risks if advanced systems become uncontrollable or misused. From destabilizing economies to autonomous weapons, the nightmare scenarios are chilling.
Of course, we can’t ignore nuclear war, either. Thousands of warheads still exist worldwide, and rising geopolitical tensions add to the concern. Even a limited nuclear exchange could unalive millions, trigger “nuclear winter,” and devastate agriculture for decades.
Major Pacific Northwest Earthquake causing loss in coastline elevation and significant flooding changes to the coast – although I truly hope not 😬.
There are so many horrible tragedies on their way that are too late to steer away from.
One towers above the rest as far as the humanitarian crisis its going to cause.
India is getting too hot to survive in for humans. No country is going to easily be able to absorb the huge numbers of people escaping the inhospitable areas. Its going to be really really bad.
To put this into context if the trend of increasing Air Conditioning use continues at the current rate India will be using more electricity to power JUST AIR CONDITIONERS than all the electricity the continent of Africa uses in a year for everything, by 2050, thats not that far away.
Another overlooked disaster could be a global water crisis. By 2050, 2.4 billion people could face severe water shortages, says the UNESCO World Water Report. Climate change, overuse, and pollution are depleting supplies. As populations expand and fresh water sources dwindle, some regions already face shortages. Experts predict future conflicts may erupt over access to clean water, potentially displacing millions.
There’s also the looming crisis of biodiversity collapse. Scientists warn that we are living through the planet’s sixth mass extinction, with species disappearing at alarming rates due to deforestation, pollution, and climate change. Losing biodiversity doesn’t just harm ecosystems, it threatens food security, medicine, and clean air. A world without bees, for example, could mean a world without crops.
I believe as the gap between the “haves” and “have nots” continue to widen we are heading towards some potentially violent times and we are already seeing it.
Juggings are increasing tremendously, how many celebrities/athletes homes are broken into while they are out of town? The smash and grabs or the mob smash and grabs.
With social media enable groups or mobs of people to quickly come together it seems likely that this behavior only increases and the mobs will only get bigger which could overwhelm any law enforcement. .
Sub prime car market. The volume of debt in car finance is huge and depressed resale values of cars coming off lease is far below what was expected. The Porsche Taycan is a perfect example of this, and now porsche has a chunky black hole in its books because it cannot get book value for these cars.
I believe we are one major event away from there being another civil war / civil unrest here in the UK. The tension has been growing for years now, and feels like it could all kick off at any given moment.
Finally, there’s the chilling thought of an asteroid impact. NASA tracks thousands of near-Earth objects, but even a medium-sized asteroid could devastate cities or trigger global effects. The good news? Space agencies are actively testing defense strategies. The bad news? One missed rock could change everything forever.
So, what do all these risks tell us? Humanity is vulnerable, but also resilient. While disasters may loom, experts stress that awareness and preparation can reduce the damage. Whether it’s tackling climate change, improving healthcare, or investing in global cooperation, we all have a role to play. The real question is: will we act in time?
What do you think about the predictions in this list? Upvote the ones you found most unnerving and feel free to leave a comment if you have global crisis theories of your own!
Crypto bubble.
therope_cotillion replied:
Pokémon card bubble too. It’s ridiculous atm, surely it’ll go back to normal eventually
Student loans. Way too many people taking too much debt to earn degrees that pay too little. All that money going to schools that charge way too much for tuition to fund the salaries of professors and administrators that get paid way too much.
Unless reforms happen the American upper education system is going to enter a death spiral.
Our national debt as it appears most current politicians are using their positions for personal gain knowing that they’ll be dead or out of office when the real sh-t hits the fan.
One that has been bothering me for a long time is the fear of when The next big solar flare or Coronal mass ejection will hit. If one as powerful as the Carrington Event https://earthsky.org/human-world/carrington-event-1859-solar-storm-effects-today/ We might better say goodbye to basically all technology and power for at least a few months to a few years. And to be honest we are due for a big one anytime soon. Here’s a great episode about what might happen from The Why Files https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftrbdFGTQO4&t=773s.
End game capitalism which is fast approaching.
20th century was the golden age of capitalism but the system itself is not self-correcting or sustainable like everyone claims. It eventually devolves into what we’re heading towards, a complete collapse. The system exponentially feeds the top. At the end stages 100 people will own everything, with a small wealthy minority behind while the rest will be struggling to survive. We’re not there yet but we’re not too far either. People will start to revolt and there will be an irreversible class war.
The whole “mass surveillance/legal id for everything” (“protecting the children””, yeah right!) b******t that is currently going on everywhere.
And mega corporations (meta, google, …) collecting EVERY bit of data they can.
People will either massively push back or privacy will completely die.
Democracy.
Olliebear2015 replied:
America has never really been a true democracy. Groups of people we have little to no control over choose people for an election and we vote for one and they do a bunch of s**t. Thats about it. The level of real democracy in this country is pretty much obsolete. Florida for example made it so for any amendment to pass it needs atleast 60% of the vote. So now even when 57% of Floridians want legal w**d and legal abortion it’s a no. Thats not a democracy whatsoever.
Social security. I’m never gonna see that money. It’s pretty much legal theft at this point for anyone under 50.
Higher Education.
I’m not against Universities, but in the last 30 years it has gone from something aspirational and meaningful to a corporate money grab and worthless.
You’re already seeing graduates going into entry level positions.. what’s the point in putting yourself into tens of thousands of pounds of debt to be an office junior or a checkout assistant at Tesco?
Once people realise it’s all just a waste, admissions numbers will drop, universities will go bankrupt, all of these tower blocks built of cardboard and sold as Student Accommodation with be worthless….
Yellowstone.
kinda_alone replied:
It almost certainly will not, and if it does, it almost certainly would not be a super eruption. From a previous discussion I had on the subject:
Yellowstone will almost certainly not erupt in our lifetimes and the next eruption is unlikely to be a super eruption.
The term super volcano is kind of a misnomer. A volcano is termed a super volcano if it has produced in its past an eruption explosive enough to be considered a super eruption. It does not mean that every eruption is a super eruption. At Yellowstone, most eruptions have not been super eruptions. Should Yellowstone erupt in the near geological future, we have no reason to believe that any impacts are more or less likely to be felt outside of the park itself.
Volcanoes are also never really over due for an eruption. Their magma chambers either have the characteristics necessary for an eruption (magma intrusions, percent of melt, pressurization/gas build up etc.) or they do not. Yellowstone has no where near enough of the ingredients for an eruption at this time. Magma chambers are not being refilled at constant rates. It doesn’t take, for example, 600k years for yellowstone to recharge. It may be shorter or longer between eruptions. Time isn’t an indicator. It’s the movement of magma and gases into the magma chamber which is critical, but even this isn’t driven by time.
Volcanoes instead ebb and flow, each to its own natural rhythm. In some years, one might see more magma enter, ground inflation rates increase etc. In others, magma will leave the chamber, ground will subside etc. It’s when there a sustained, material difference in the background rates for a particular volcano that causes geologists to be concerned.
Yellowstone continues to ebb and flow well within its historical pattern with zero indication that anything is changing. There has been ground deformation yes, but at rates that are consistent with its background activity. Some years the ground rises, some years it falls, and it varies across the park. It hasn’t been concerning though as it is just how this volcano operates. Given the size of Yellowstone’s magma chamber, scientists would likely need to see many, many years of evidence of unusual intrusions be concerned of an impending eruption (more melt, higher shallow earthquakes compared to historical average/tremor, consistent ground deformation, more gassing, etc.). There is nothing indicative of any impending eruption
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