What kind of apocalypse will happen

The likelihood of this depends on the extent to which humans are dependent on the ecosystem. Some lifestyles, for example, could be sustained if they were independent from the network. Whether this can be achieved on a large scale in practice, especially during a collapse, will be a technological challenge, and whether it is something that is wanted, is an ethical question.

Super-precise manufacturing on an atomic level could create materials with new properties - such as being highly resilient or 'smart' - that would be highly beneficial. These manufacturing technologies could offer some of the world's biggest problems - including the depletion of natural resources, pollution, climate change, clean water and even poverty.

But it could also lead to the creation of large arsenals of conventional or more novel weapons made possible by atomically precise manufacturing.

The fear of an apocalyptic nuclear war between Russia and the US gripped the global community for decades. That threat may have reduced, but the potential for deliberate or accidental nuclear conflict has not been reduced, with some estimates putting the risk in the next century at around 10 per cent.

Whether the war has a larger impact would depend on whether it triggered a 'nuclear winter' - the creation of a cloud of smoke high in the atmosphere that would block the Sun's rays, plunging temperatures below freezing, and possibly destroy the ozone layer. In order for this to happen, the bombs would have to start massive firebombs that could lift the dust into the atmosphere.

The effects would lead to the disintegration of the global food supply - making widespread starvation and the collapse of states likely.

This refers to two main categories of government disasters - failing to solve major solvable problems and actively causing worse outcomes. An example of the first would be failing to alleviate absolute poverty; of the second, constructing a global totalitarian state. Changes in technology, politics and society could lead to the creation of better governments, but it could also give us those that are much worse.

This broad term refers to an economic or societal collapse on a global scale that involves civil unrest and a breakdown of law and order that makes the continuation of human life impossible on Earth. Climate change could make extreme weather more severe, increase droughts in some areas, change the distribution of animals and diseases across the globe, and cause low-lying areas of the planet to be submerged in the wake of rising sea levels.

The cascade of changes could lead to political instability, severe drought, famine, ecosystem collapse and other changes that make Earth a decidedly inhospitable place to live. It's the mainstay of disaster movies, but scientists are legitimately worried that a space rock could wipe out Earth. A meteor impact probably doomed the dinosaurs, and in the Tunguska event, a massive meteoroid damaged about square miles 2, square kilometers of the Siberian forest in Even more frightening, perhaps, is that astronomers only know about a fraction of the space rocks lurking in the solar system.

New deadly pathogens crop up every year: Recent pandemics have included outbreaks of SARS severe acute respiratory syndrome , bird flu , and, most recently, a coronavirus called MERS that originated in Saudi Arabia. And because of our highly interconnected, global economy, a deadly disease could spread like wildfire. Though bacterial threats are dangerous, fungal threats are even scarier, said David Wake, curator at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley.

An equally fatal fungus in humans would be catastrophic. And though bacteria are deadly, antibiotics are plentiful. By comparison, we know much less about treating fungal infections, Wake told LiveScience.

In , the scientific community was outraged that researchers had engineered a mutant version of the bird flu H5N1 that was transmissible in ferrets and transmitted via the air.

The results sparked fears that engineered deadly diseases could inadvertently escape from the lab or be intentionally released, leading to a global pandemic. A "Doomsday Scenario" is "an extremely serious or dangerous situation that could end in death or destruction" - Macmillan Dictionary. It is used as a synonym for an apocalyptic event and is a common feature of science-fiction literature, films, and other media.

They can be all-encompassing leading to the extinction of all life, including humans, on Earth. Other scenarios can be more "minor" whereby "the cultural, technological, environmental or social world is so greatly altered it could be considered as a different world.

According to sites like nzherald. These are as follows: -. Here are 5 examples of apocalyptic events that governments around the world are at least attempting to plan for. Believe it or not but some governments have actually produced disaster plans in case of an event akin to a zombie apocalypse. The United States' Centers for Disease Control posted tips on how to survive one should it ever occur.

These tips are obviously made partly in jest but have serious real-life applications in case of more realistic events such as large hurricanes.

It contains information on what should be included in your emergency provisions. This includes things like clean drinking water, food, medication, tools, and other supplies. It's actually a very interesting read and I would recommend that you give it a quick once over. While it is humorously written to address a zombie apocalypse, it is applicable to many other disaster events in the real-world. Whatever your views on this issue, many governments around the world have been planning for the worst-case scenario.

Island governments are particularly concerned about the possibility of rising sea levels for obvious reasons. One example is the island nation of Kiribati in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The island is barely above sea level as it is, and any major rises would completely drown the island.

They have contingency plans in place to buy land from other nearby nations, like Fiji, to relocate their population of , should the worst-case ever occur.

The Maldives is another island nation in potential danger. In a PR stunt back in , before the opening of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, then-President Mohamed Nasheed held an underwater cabinet meeting to draw attention to the potential problem.

He has since been at the forefront of leading the charge to encourage other nations to reduce their emissions ASAP.