Killer robots, aliens, asteroids and another pandemic have been listed as one of the many things that could trigger a global apocalypse.
If you're looking for a bleak read, you're in the right place.
Some of the other most common potential causes of the end of civilisation include the reversal of Earth’s magnetic field and a wandering black hole that could wipe out the entire planet.
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While at first glance, these notions may seem far-fetched, scientists warn that humanity's continued existence is at greater risk due to the Doomsday Clock moving closer.
Earlier this year the Daily Star reported that for the first time in three years, the Doomsday Clock recalibrated and put the world at a terrifying 90 seconds to midnight.
This is the closest to total catastrophe we have ever been, according to the clock and it is largely thought to be due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Clock's job is to tell us how close we are to a worldwide disaster of man-made origin.
Experts believe the Clock moving forward signals a real risk to humanity – Mail Online has explores how the most likely triggers of the end of the world take effect.
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Giant asteroid impact
Much like the dinosaurs, an asteroid could bring about the end of humanity.
The Chicxulub asteroid slammed into a shallow sea in what is now the Gulf of Mexico — sparking a massive tsunami and releasing a huge soot and dust cloud which triggered global climate change and wiped out 75 per cent of Earth's animal and plant species.
Astronomers estimate that one of these monster asteroids should smash into our planet once every 100 million years or so – estimated within the next 30 million years.
Killer robots
In recent years artificial intelligence (AI) systems, the likes of ChatGPT, have developed significantly.
There has forever been a debate about whether such technology poses more benefits than potential risks to the public – and experts fear it could be our downfall.
The bitter argument spilt into the public domain earlier this year when more than 1,000 tech tycoons signed a letter calling for a pause on the 'dangerous race' to advance AI.
They said urgent action was needed before humans lose control of the technology and risk being wiped out by robots.
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Supervolcano
Supervolcanoes are one of the most serious natural threats to human existence – and they occur roughly every 100,000 years.
They have a devastating impact on our planet's climate and ecology, with the most famous Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming which has erupted three times in the past 2.1 million years.
If one were to erupt again today, experts claim a titanic eruption would spew lava up to 40 miles and send ash and toxic gases hurtling skywards.
Aliens
Whether you’re a believer or not, experts say that there is a real risk that if another life form were to reach Earth, their technology would be so advanced that we would be defenceless.
According to author Bryan Walsh, who wrote End Times: A Brief Guide To The End Of The World, such a scenario “would not be like Independence Day or any of these movies”, but more as though the US military was “taking on a primitive tribe”.
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Swallowed by the sun
Planet Earth could be killed by the very thing keeping it alive.
When the sun runs out of fuel it could engulf not only Earth but also Mercury and Venus – though this won't happen for around five billion years.
Reversal of Earth's magnetic field
Historically, Earth's North and South poles have flipped every 200,000 – 300,000 years.
It's estimated that the last shift occurred around 780,000 years ago leading some experts to predict another reversal could be imminent.
When a complete flip does happen, it is preceded by the dwindling of Earth's magnetic field to almost nothing.
This is significant because the magnetic field acts as a barrier to protect Earth's ozone layer by deflecting cosmic rays and particle storms from the sun.
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Pandemic
While humanity managed to survive the coronavirus pandemic, scientists believe another pandemic could wipe out the last of us.
The virus is thought to have been responsible for some 20 million deaths worldwide – a number which could have been significantly higher had a vaccine not been rolled out.
Other conditions such which are nearly always fatal or which are extremely infectious, with long incubation periods could have much more devastating effects.
Wandering black holes
Scientists are still learning about black holes and recently discovered a monstrous hole in a distant galaxy which stands at three million times the size of Earth.
The discovery of the closest known black holes to our planet was actually revealed just last month. They are currently no threat to us but if they wandered closer they could pose a threat.
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Nuclear war
One of the more realistic ways that the apocalypse could be brought about is nuclear war, especially given Russia's war in Ukraine and North Korean Kim Jong Un’s nuclear weapon developments.
Whether the war had an extinction-level impact would depend on whether it triggered a “nuclear winter”.
In order for this to happen, the bombs would have to start massive firebombs that could lift the dust into the atmosphere.
Global warming
Around 98% of all the organisms that have existed on our planet have gone extinct and over the last 500 million years there have been five mass extinction events.
And a sixth could be on the way due to climate change caused by human activity unless countries take immediate and significant action to curb global warming.
In terms of total annihilation, if global temperatures keep rising then it could lead to a runaway greenhouse effect that in the utmost of extremes would have Earth more closely resembling Venus, where the high on a typical day is 900°F (482°C).
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