Out of a list of about 175 apocalyptic predictions, some of the significant prophesies were: (i) Beatus of Liebana: This Spanish monk prophesied the Second Coming of Christ and end of the world on 6 April 793 CE.

(ii) Michael Stifel: This mathematician calculated that Judgement Day would begin at 8.00 am on 19 October 1533.

(iii) Martin Luther: Martin Luther, a German Priest and Professor of Theology known for starting Protestant Reformation predicted that the end of the world would occur no later than 1600 CE.

(iv) London Astrologers: These Astrologers predicted the deluge on 1 February 1524 but recalculated the date to 100 years later to 1 February 1624.

(v) Christopher Columbus: Columbus predicted that the world would come to an end in 1658, According to him, the world was created in 5343 BCE and would not last more than 7000 years. (vi) Dean Dixon and various Indian Astrologers: They predicted that the planetary alignment on 4 February 1962 would bring destruction to the world, Mass prayer meetings and Yagnas were held in India. (vii) Brahma Kumaris: Lekhraj Kirpalali, founder of Brahma Kumaris made a number of predictions of a global Armageddon ~ nuclear war and natural disasters and sinking other continents except India ~ that would occur in 1976.

(viii) Nazim Al-Haqqani: This Sufi Muslim predicted that the Last Judgement would occur by 2000.

(ix) Aum Shinrikyo: This Japanese cult predicted that the world would be destroyed by a nuclear war between 30 October and 29 November 2003.

(x) Grigori Rasputin: The Russian mystic who died in 1916, predicted that a severe storm would take place on 23 August 2013 and fire would destroy most life on land and Jesus would come back to Earth to comfort the distressed.

Needless to say, none of these prophesies as well as all other past predictions has come true and it is presumed that future predictions beyond 2023 are likely to be proved wrong, making the predictions of astrologers and clergymen meaningless. Gautama Buddha had said, “The only permanent thing in this world is impermanence,” as the world is in a perpetual flux. Since every beginning has an end, the world will also end one day ~ when and how is the question! The answer cannot be sought from the soothsayers or the astrologers but from the scientists and the astrophysicists who have been engaged in the exploration of the Universe, its origin and mysteries.

The apocalypse is inevitable. According to the Puranas, Kali Yuga spans over 430,000 years during which the world will be destroyed and a new cycle of civilization will usher in after the destruction. Though not scientifically tested, it offers a plausible explanation. We are supposed to be in the midst of Kali Yuga and the process of destruction due to decline in morality and virtues has already started. The apocalypse can be gradual and need not be sudden. Recent cataclysmic events have shown that mini-apocalypses have already begun.

The Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, the tsunami in Indonesia, the devastating tornadoes in the Mexican Gulf, the unprecedented floods in Europe, the earthquakes in Iran and the recent fateful earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are sure indications that future catastrophes are waiting to happen posing grave dangers for human existence.

Leading astrophysicists and scientists, with the aid of the ‘cosmic detectives’ (Hubble’s space, James Webb Space Telescope etc.) have arrived at a fair assessment about the origin and life of the Universe, the life-time of the Sun and the fate of our planet Earth. According to the Lamda–CDM Concordant Model as of 2021, the age of the universe has been estimated at 13.77 billion years (earlier estimate was 13.787 billion years), but there is no convergence of theories about the end of the universe. Scientists are not sure if the end will come with “Big Freeze” (Big Chill) or “Heat Death” but the most acceptable hypothesis has been: “As the existing stars run out of fuel and cease to shine, the universe will slowly and inexorably grow darker. Eventually black holes will dominate the universe, which themselves will disappear over time as they emit Hawking radiation” (source: Reviews of Modern Physics). But this may take many billions of years, may be a trillion years or more. Scientists predict that the Sun which is one of about 100 billion stars in our Galaxy, the Milky Way, has nearly reached its halflife (4.5 billion years) and is currently in a most stable Phase. But in another 4.5-5.5 billion years, the Sun will run out of hydrogen and helium and will collapse into a White Dwarf. Meanwhile, as the Sun will grow out of its stable state, in an expanding Universe, many catastrophic events may occur within the Solar system.

While our Earth is as old as the Sun (4.5 billion years), animal life started evolving from only 800 million years ago and early human life evolved in 15-20 species in Africa between 6 and 2 million years ago. ‘The Journey of Man’ out of Africa in different branches to populate the continents began only about 10,000 years ago. While the life of the earth is coterminous with the life of the Sun, all existing life forms including Homo sapiens will face extinction after about 1 billion years. It is already a tragedy that 99 per cent of the species that lived on earth, amounting to more than 5 billion, have already become extinct; scientists have estimated around 8.7 million species of plants and animals are in existence out of which only 1.2 million species have been identified and described. The next 1 billion years are critical for the Sun as well as for the Earth. In the process of continuous nuclear fusion, every second, 6000 tons of matter are converted into solar radiation producing roughly 4×1027 watts of energy. At this rate, the Sun will lose 10 per cent of its energy in 1 billion years, which will have tremendous impact on planet earth.

There are two scientific theories about what is likely to happen then ~ cold death or hot death. One group of scientists thinks that with 10 per cent loss of Sun’s energy and sunshine, the Earth will be frozen to death. The other group of scientists, who are in the majority, have concluded: “as the Sun continues to expend hydrogen in its core, the fusion process speeds up and the output of the Sun increases.

At present, this is leading to a 1 per cent increase in luminosity every 100 million years and a 30 per cent increase over the course of the last 4.5 billion years. In 1.1 billion years from now, the Sun will be 10 per cent brighter than it is today, and this increase in luminosity will also mean increase in heat energy, which Earth’s atmosphere will absorb. This will trigger a moist greenhouse effect here on Earth that is similar to the runaway warming that turned Venus into the hellish environment that we see there today” (source: Universe Today).

In 4.5 billion years from now, the Sun will be 40 per cent brighter, which will cause the oceans to boil and the vapours will dissipate into the atmosphere turning the Earth a Venus-like dry planet. The Sun’s surface may expand so much that the gravitational forces may cause the Earth and the moon to collapse into the ‘red giant’.

In conclusion, final Apocalypse, sudden or gradual, would be inevitable in the distant future. But with the major shifts of the Earth’s tectonic plates, the activity of ‘the ring of fire’, rapid global warming and any instability in the Sun’s nuclear fusion mechanism, planet Earth will face many mini-apocalypses which we are witnessing today and which will continue to occur for the next 1 billion years. After all, we are in the midst of Kali Yuga! Meanwhile, the world’s astrologers, god men and the fortune tellers may think of retirement and try to listen to what the astrophysicists and scientists have to say about the end of the world.

(The writer is a former Dy. Comptroller &Auditor General of India and a former Ombudsman of Reserve Bank of India. He is also a writer of several books and can be reached at)