The Year Stephen Hawking Predicted The World Would End

Every New Year, news outlets scour the predictions of famous seers such as Nostradamus to see what might happen in the months ahead (he had plenty of chilling 2025 prophecies). When it comes to distant predictions, however, it's probably better to listen to the experts. British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking became world famous for both his scientific prowess and his ability to explain complicated concepts to the general public. His intelligence and understanding of the universe made him a favorite among politicians and other celebrities, who relished the chance to meet a modern-day genius.

But as well as looking to outer space, Hawking was concerned with the future. Indeed, he saw his theoretical work on space phenomena to be of consequence for humanity in the face of growing dangers. He once said (per CNN): "I see great dangers for the human race. ... I don't think the human race has a moral obligation to learn about space, but it would be foolish and short sighted not to. It may hold the key to our survival." Especially in his later life, prior to his death in 2018, Hawking often spoke publicly on what he thought the future of humanity might be. Disconcertingly, as late as 2017, he foresaw that humans only had 100 years left on Earth, meaning that, according to him, we are due to be wiped out in 2117.

Hawking considered many factors when predicting what the future of the world might look like. But most notably, he considered growing technological and environmental threats. Here's what led Hawking to make such a grim prediction for the end of the world.

Stephen Hawking's warnings for the future grew more strident as the reality of the threats facing humanity in the 21st century came into focus. He had long been an advocate for space exploration and viewed the possibility of humanity colonizing other planets like Mars as a vital step to saving our species. The threats he saw included the development of new technologies, which he warned may turn out to be more dangerous and uncontrollable than its creators could foresee. 

Chillingly, Hawking was preoccupied with the dawning of artificial intelligence, describing it as "either the best, or the worst, thing ever to happen to humanity, per ScienceAlert. He feared the rise of AI becoming weaponized and the creation of "autonomous weapons." And of course, nuclear weapons are a continuing threat to the world as we know it. In a 2016 lecture at the University of Cambridge, Hawking claimed that humanity had 1,000 years to leave the planet. However, within a year, he believed this window had shrunk dramatically.

Despite numerous technological threats and the horrifying possibility of a civilization-ending nuclear war, what really worried Stephen Hawking was the creeping danger of climate change. Its effects were already being felt in Hawking's lifetime, with the scientific community raising the alarm over the adverse effect carbon emissions were (and still are) having on the environment. Allowing the global temperature to increase by just a few degrees, experts say, will lead to an increase in extreme weather events, the loss of biodiversity, and the mass displacement of people as a greater area of the planet's surface becomes uninhabitable.

The problem of climate change has pushed nations across the world to try and align on policies to collectively lower carbon emissions from industry, leading to many major powers signing up to the landmark 2016 Paris Agreement. The treaty stipulated that governments must do everything in their power to limit global temperatures rises to 2 degrees Celsius. As reported by CNBC, President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement in 2017, a move Hawking criticized strongly, saying it meant "environmental damage to our beautiful planet, endangering the natural world, for us and our children."

It appears that Hawking's despondency at leaders' unwillingness to pull together to fight climate change led to his brutal assessment that humanity had only a century to survive on Earth. There is one glimmer of hope, however. On November 5, 2017, just four months before his death at the age of 76, Hawking adjusted his prediction once more. This time, he increased his prediction to 600 years, telling the audience in Beijing that humanity will certainly need to leave Earth before then and highlighting the danger of overpopulation.