Within fiction, there are many ways the world has ended or can end. While some of these are very unlikley to happen, many are a possibility, and if we are not careful – life as we know it may change and could cause the end our beautiful world.
Grading Criteria: We will be ranking these apocalypse events taking into consideration factors such as how deadly this would impact the world and which are some of the most popular that have been described in literature and common culture.
10: Resource Depletion
We start with one that could be very relatable to our world today and that in some parts of the world, there are signs of this happening already.
When we think about resource depletion, we don’t have to look too far for resources whose decline that would cause the world to potentially go into chaos. Oil is one of the first that comes to mind, with many of the world’s superpowers running on fossil fuels and similar alternatives to run their economies. The depletion of oil would no doubt plunge most of the world into chaos but with alternative energy sources being looked into this is no longer a concern for some nations. Raw materials and resources such as loss of water and trees could really put the world on its final legs with loss of water being a vital source for practically every living being in the world, and with trees and forests making up a huge part of many habitats and resources used in economy. Loss of resources would see civilisation scrambling to fight for what they have and preserve whatever they could for even harder times to come. Nations with less usage of natural resources would be some of the last to fall, especially rural and unpopulated areas would be some of the last-standing examples of human civilisation. These scenarios would no doubt see the end of life on our planet but of course with resources such as these being replenished, the likelihood of this happening is very low.
9: Divine Intervention
In many religions and mythologies, there are grand stories of the world ending through divine intervention.
The intervention of Gods or Deities is a theme often explored within religion’s worldwide and their many tales throughout history told of events that lead to the world’s end. A popular tale is Ragnarök, which in Norse mythology is the end of Gods and men through a series of catastrophic events which eventually leads to the end of the world. A more religious take on this would be “Judgement Day”, more specifically: “The Rapture” in Christianity where all Christians are taken from the Earth to the heaven to meet God while the non believers stay on earth to witness the second coming of Jesus Christ. In Islam, Judgement day is a day where everyone is resurrected and faces the judgement of Allah where they are judged sending good people to Jannah (Heaven) and people deemed bad to Jahannam (Hell). Alternatively, within Hinduism, where the deity Lord Shiva is considered the strongest deity in the religion with the power to quite literally vanquish worlds. Popular takes on these different viewpoints find there way into pop culture and literature where stories can be told of these great deities plunging the world into chaos and bringing about the end of the world through their respective ceremonies.
8: Cosmic Event
Space Phenomena has long been feared throughout modern history in conjunction with the end of the world. Astronomical bodies such as meteors are commonly seen as the most prominent threat from space.
While everyone has probably heard of the meteor that killed the dinosaurs, not all asteroids are a threat to the world. Every day lots of meteors enter the Earth’s atmosphere but due to their size they are vaporised before they reach the earth. It is said that an asteroid needed to end the world would need to be over 7 miles (11KM Approx.) wide to end all life on Earth. However, it isn’t just giant asteroids that pose a threat… Activity from the Sun can be dangerous, with a massive solar flare event causing damage to electronics on a global scale – this could see a loss of heating and electricity which in turn could cause basic survival needs like food and medicine to spoil, plunging the world into chaos. Other phenomena could be events such as a gamma ray burst or a supernova. Supernova’s occur usually when a star reaches the end of its life emitting a powerful energy waves capable of wiping out entire galaxy’s with their explosions. Similar to this, gamma ray burst emits intense, concentrated radiation beams which if it made contact with the earth could vaporise the Earth in seconds. Another common way of going due to space phenomena would be the infamous black hole. Essentially, a dead star that pulls all matter inwards with nothing able to escape. Many stories about black holes have been written, either that they portal all who enter into another dimension or are just pure instruments of death – regardless they are still scary with seemingly no chance of escape from them.
7: A.I.
A very hot button issue discussed within today’s technological society and communities: the rise of AI has been addressed by many great minds such as Stephen Hawking to be something to not take lightly as it may soon be telling us what to do instead of the other way around.
AI or Artificial Intelligence, can be seen as a wonder of technological innovation with the power to have self-learning machines create a better, easier world for humans. Examples include self-driving cars and drones as just some of the many things that are possible with AI and with many modern military applications incorporating this into their defence, you can be sure its only a matter of time before human decision is taken out of the mix on the battlefield. The main theme of AI, regarding an end of the world scenario, would be that some form of technological dystopia would be created where machines would govern the world instead of humans and any humans left in the world would either be slaves or hiding away from this new society. Many pop culture media has incorporated their own take on this, such as “The Terminator” franchise with their self-aware machines that wage war in the future against humans and “The Matrix” where humans have been enslaved by AI-controlled machines. With fictional content for us to sit back and enjoy, AI remains a popular ideal of an apocalyptic world created by our technological advancement as a species.
6: Climate Change
One of the most talked about topics in most recent years due to diverse effects in our environments, climate change is one topic that won’t be put to rest anytime soon.
Climate change is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon including: rising sea levels, extreme weather events, destruction of the Earth’s protective ozone layer, and rising global temperatures; it all plays a part in the grand scheme. The basis of which is primarily attributed to human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, industrial processes, and agricultural practices. Climate change can see whole cities being wiped away and the destructive events that would lead to humanity’s end. Many global committees and governments are tasked with tackling with climate change and fighting the way we as humans utilise our planet.
5: Natural Disasters
Building on from climate change, natural disasters are something that we cannot really mitigate as opposed to climate change. Mother nature decides when and where to strike and no one can stop her.
Common natural disasters that are associated with an apocalyptic earth would be the most prominent examples such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes. These are disasters that are seen globally, some more frequent than others. While many are on smaller scales and would not solely be responsible for nothing more that a ruined town or city, there are stories of these causing extreme ruin in the world. Mount Tambora being one where a volcano in Indonesia erupted so violently and produced so much ash that it affected the global climate causing what was known as “The Year Without Summer” in 1815. There is also much discussion around “Supervolcanoes”, which are volcanoes that have had the highest classified explosion based on the volcanic explosivity index (VEI). An explosion from them wouldn’t necessarily kill all life on earth but the after effects it would cause could wreak havoc on the Earth’s climate. Same goes for earthquakes and tsunamis. A giant tsunami named a “Mega Tsunami” could cause large losses of life especially if it originates in the ocean as it could point outwards in all directions. To trigger this, you would also need to have had an immensely large earthquake. One of these in the fault lines where cities reside would cause immense devastation. Nowadays, we are never short of a disaster film in which we see immense devastation as created by the moviemakers. Best example to see all of this in practice would be the film “2012” where a theoretical approach at the end of the world by natural calamities is explored.
4: Alien Invasion 
The long-running conspiracy and idea of aliens existing has spawned many theories that have seen aliens visit our ancestors thousands of years ago to crash landing in our world and being hidden away by the government.
An alien invasion is a popular trope within science fiction which sees lifeforms from space invade our planet with hostile intent, often motivated by conquest, colonisation, or resource exploitation. They are typically depicted with superior technology that far outweighs our own and come in many forms but started out as basic humanoids with enhanced features such as limbs and heads. They can conquer and infiltrate our world through use of advanced weaponry, spacecraft biological agents, or infiltration by taking on human disguises. One of the earliest depictions of this was the H.G. Wells’ novel “The War of the Worlds” (1898), which depicts a Martian invasion of Earth and the ensuing struggle for survival by humanity. Other examples include the films “Independence Day” and “Mars Attacks”. The central themes usually include humanity’s united efforts to fight back the alien invaders and can often have strong connotations in real life issues such as war, genocide and xenophobia. Alien invasion stories have had a significant cultural impact, influencing popular culture, shaping public perceptions of extra-terrestrial life, and inspiring countless works of fiction across various forms of media.
3: Pandemic
If we are talking about real apocalyptic threats to our world then this is probably the one we are most likely to encounter, especially after our global pandemic of 2019 at the hands of a virus outbreak.
A global pandemic is a very real threat that has seen many real life examples such as the infamous Covid 19, the Spanish Flu, and the Black Death. Essentially a pandemic constitutes of a pathogen that is highly contagious that spreads rapidly and infects mass population’s with deadly and fatal symptoms. Pandemics are typically caused by the introduction of a novel pathogen (such as a virus or bacterium) into a population with little to no pre-existing immunity. Pathogens may undergo mutations or genetic reassortment that enable efficient transmission between humans and the development of new symptoms and variants. They are typically spread through respiratory droplets, close contact with infected individuals, or contact with contaminated surfaces or objects. Some pandemics may also involve zoonotic transmission, where the pathogen jumps from animals to humans. On global mass scale a pandemic of high severity could wipe out entire populations and have wide-ranging social, economic, and public health impacts that would see society collapse and change to ensure the survival of humanity. Disease and pandemics are popular in media with fiction such as “Contagion” which sees the rapid spread of a deadly virus and the efforts of scientists, government officials, and the public to contain the outbreak. Within literature “The Stand” by Stephen King is a novel that depicts a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a super-flu virus that wipes out most of humanity. It follows the survivors as they struggle to rebuild society amidst the chaos.
2: Nuclear War
The threat of a nuclear holocaust has long been a fear that has gripped society since the late 1940s due to the use of the first 2 nuclear weapons detonated in Japan at the end of World War 2.
The basis of nuclear holocaust would be the widespread global destruction as caused by nuclear warfare. Nuclear weapons release vast amounts of energy through nuclear fission or fusion reactions, causing some true devastation. The great fear around nuclear weapons is not just the effects of the initial explosion but the after-effects it can have affecting entire regions. The detonation of a nuclear weapon results in the immediate destruction of anything within the blast radius. The heat produced inside the blast zone is hotter than the surface of the sun by about 4 or 5 times and the blast wave produced will damage infrastructure and the surrounding areas and how close they are to the epicentre. One of the other deadly after-effects would also be the radioactive fallout which can spread over vast distances and contaminate the environment, leading to long-term heath effects, radiation sickness, mutations, and destruction of entire ecosystems. A nuclear winter could be the by-product of extensive use of nuclear weapons, which is a phenomenon where fallout, dust and debris lifts into the atmosphere and blocks sunlight – causing widespread crop failure and famine. No doubt the effects caused by nuclear weapons would bring society to its knees with breakdown of governments and social order, and would see the remnants of humanity fight for survival by any means necessary. In more recent years the threat of nuclear war has risen with worldwide events involving Ukraine and the Middle East. The biggest bomb ever made and tested was the Tsar Bomba, a soviet thermonuclear bomb that was detonated in a test on October 30, 1961. It produced the most powerful human-made explosion ever recorded with an explosive yield of 50 Megatons. For comparison, the bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were only 15 Kilotons! Many films and games touch upon the use of nuclear weapons and attempt to portray their level of destruction, a popular series called “Fallout” explores a post-apocalyptic alternative world following a global nuclear war.
1: Zombies
When thinking of zombies it’s difficult to not think of apocalyptic setting to accompany them. For many years zombies have been a fascinating topic that has captivated our imaginations for years and it doesn’t seem to be going away.
The common zombie apocalypse scenario usually consists of a world which is overrun by reanimated corpses, commonly referred to as zombies. In most zombie apocalypse narratives, zombies are created through some form of contagion, infection, or supernatural event. The exact cause of the outbreak can vary, ranging from viral infections to radiation exposure, genetic experiments, or supernatural curses. Zombies are typically depicted as reanimated corpses that exhibit minimal cognitive function, insatiable hunger for human flesh, and a relentless drive to infect or kill living beings. They are often portrayed as slow-moving, shambling creatures, though some adaptations feature faster, more agile zombies. A zombie outbreak commonly leads to society’s collapse and the fight for survival by humans in a landscape characterised by abandoned cities, decaying infrastructure, and overgrown wilderness. Not only must they fight the zombies but they must also navigate other hazards such as scarcity of food and water, environmental dangers, and hostile human factions. There is a whole collection of pop culture that has had its shot at exploring this theme, some common examples include the novel “World War Z”, “The Game”, the series “The Last of Us”, and “The Walking Dead” comic and television adaptation.
Honourable Mention: Totalitarian Dystopia
The rise of authoritarian regimes or oppressive governments that exploit the chaos of an apocalypse to seize power and control over the remnants of society.
During an apocalypse there will always be pockets of resistance that seek to take power. A regime may even take power before an apocalypse leading to a dystopian future. Usually characterised by oppressive governmental control, restricted individual freedom, and a pervasive sense of fear and surveillance. All aspects of society would be governed by a single ruling authority or political party that would maintain absolute power and seek control over every aspect of people’s lives, often through propaganda, censorship, and violence. The government would maintain a powerful military and security apparatus to enforce its rule and crush any oppression. Examples of this in fiction include the film series of “Divergent” and “The Hunger Games”. Elements of totalitarianism and dystopia can also be found in real-world historical examples, such as Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and even, current North Korea.
Other Contenders
Time Travel: Time travel experiments or disruptions could lead to catastrophic consequences, altering history and threatening the fabric of reality.
Apocalyptic Fantasy: Magical or supernatural forces trigger an apocalypse, unleashing chaos, monsters, and dark magic upon the world.
Technological Power: Abuse or misuse of powerful technologies such as new weapons, genetics and AI bringing about widespread destruction to the planet.