It's the end of the world as we know it

 

                        I must be talking about the Election results from Tuesday night, right?    

                                                                            Actually - NO!

Will the world end in 2038?

This year wasn’t what we expected it to be. We went from making some of the best plans of our lives to just sitting at home and streaming movies, which, in fact, was a great bummer. And the sudden outbreak of such a deadly virus planted a seed of fear inside our heads, all of us asking some version of the question, “Is the world going to end?”. Some even went on to predict that the world will end in 2038.

So, let’s dig in and see if this is all to scare people off or something that may be of concern to us.

Is the world going to end in 2038?

So, the next big question is – why this specific reference to 2038? Why is 2038 predicted as the world’s end?

Doomsday predictions are not new and certainly do not apply only to 2038. The world has been predicted to end countless times. The world has been predicted to end in both 2022 & 2027. Future predictions are never certain. But, can we in any way know if there is any truth in these doomsday claims? Is the world going to end in 2038?

No, the world is not going to end in 2038. Having said that, certain events could cause chaos to a certain extent in that year.  

What exactly is going to happen in 2038?

We will be facing another crisis like the Year 2000 problem, when computers that used two digits for years were unable to handle the transition into the emerging 21st century. 

To fully comprehend the problem of the year 2038, it is necessary to fully define it. This event or potential crisis has been termed as the 2038 issue or Y2K38 issue. In 2038, Y2K38 is likely to occur due to the limitations of 32-bit processors and those operating systems that run on them. 

All 32 bit systems will face a time encoding error in 2038, i.e. the computers will be unable to calculate the time and return an invalid value for time on 03:14:07 UTC on January 19, 2038.

So, how does it lead to the world getting destroyed? Let’s find out.

What does it have to do with the world ending?

Many around the world are concerned that these machines will eventually crash. Although the world is not coming to an end on 19th January 2038, several problems will arise with digital systems. The following are some of the major challenges that we will be facing in 2038:

• Globally, essential infrastructure systems, including those controlling computer systems, will go offline simultaneously.
• Thousands of aircraft may fall from the sky, medical equipment may fail, and nuclear power plants may melt and release radioactive waste.
• Satellites in Earth’s orbit may collide.
• Today’s most advanced technology would not be able to calculate dates.
• Mobile devices might become obsolete and have to be disposed of.

While we might be able to deal with the loss of our mobile devices, imagine an airplane without GPS or a car without airbags. The situation could be chaotic. 

Will the world come to an end because of this?

Several times in the past, people have spoken of the day a computer apocalypse will be a reality. The computer apocalypse was widely prophesied about 20 years ago, with many insisting December 31 of 1999 was the end of the world.

During the seventies, some people gave warnings that computers cannot distinguish between 1900 and 2000, the start of the new millennium. A nuclear attack was one of many disasters predicted for that day.

In response, many people went out and bought basic necessities. A few computer failures here and there aside, it was nothing major. Now, there is a new date when some people think that all electronic devices and computer systems will stop working. 

Should you worry about it?

You don’t have to worry about it. As technology advances, more and more systems are using a 64-bit architecture, which stores information more efficiently.

Even though this is not a definitive solution, computer experts are surely working on one. We are pretty sure that, just as it happened in the year 2000, nothing drastic will happen in the year 2038, and we will continue living our normal lives afterwards. 

But the situation doesn’t settle here. There could be other reasons for the world to end in 2038.

Why will the world end in 2038?

There are various other reasons for 2038 being the judgment year. So, here are a few of them explaining why the world will end in 2038.

1. The US military will withdraw from the areas conquered in most of the middle east nations, which may lead to a dictator’s rulership and will bring nothing but hell upon its residents. Well, this nation’s dominance process is already in effect now, as the Taliban took over Afghanistan after the US military withdrew their power.
2. It’s reported that wildfires will increase between the years 2030 to 2040, which will be the major source of carbon dioxide emissions, to be expected around 70%.
3. Temperatures will increase, which will gradually help various viruses and disease-carrier insects to perish, resulting in something like West Nile Virus, which is not good news.
4. People living on the shorelines in various regions will have to move because of the potential risk of regular flooding. This will create an enormous impact on the government and the people.

And the list could go on. The quality of life on Earth and its living conditions are rapidly declining. These reasons could be the answer to ‘why will the world end in 2038?’.

How will the world end in 2038?

Now let’s look at how the world will end in 2038. There are two main reasons for that, stating below:

1. After the withdrawal of the US military over some parts of the middle east, terrorist organizations may command world dominance and because of that they may end up using the deadliest weapon of all time, the nuclear bomb, and once any country drops the first nuclear bomb, it’s the beginning of the end of the world.
2. The next way is the sudden outbreak of something way more powerful than COVID-19. It’s not just a regular virus, it killed millions of people all around the globe, and we know that but what if there’s something way worse out there? So, the biological outbreak is the other way how this world may end.

But at the end of the day, these are all speculations and it is impossible to definitely answer questions like, will the world end in 2038.