It's getting hot in here — and if you won't take Nelly's word for it, take Stephen Hawking's.
The world population is soaring, and humans' demand for energy is skyrocketing along with it. That's why, the physicist guesses, we have less than 600 years until humans turn Earth into a "ball of fire."
Hawking made his dire prediction via video conference at Beijing's Tencent WE Summit on Sunday, Metro reported. But Hawking said there's still hope for humanity — if we get out of here fast.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Luckily, there's a solar system just four light years away. Breakthrough Starshot, a project backed by Hawking and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is working to get there, developing tiny spaceships propelled by laser beams that could travel to Mars in less than an hour. That means they could speed to Alpha Centauri and its Earthlike planet Proxima b in about 20 years, according to Scientific American.
In other words: It might be time to start packing for a long, long road trip to save the human race.
-
Has Israel’s Qatar strike scuppered a ceasefire?Today’s Big Question Netanyahu ‘gambles’ on ‘overwhelming strength’ rather than diplomacy in attack on Hamas negotiation team in Doha
-
Deaf Republic: ‘an experimental epic of war and resistance’The Week Recommends Ukrainian-American writer Ilya Kaminsky’s poetry collection is brought to the stage in this ‘enthralling’ production
-
The Week US subscriptions FAQHow to manage your subscription, get digital access, enquire about delivery problems and renew gift subscriptions
-
Russia slams Kyiv, hits government buildingSpeed Read This was Moscow's largest aerial assault since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022
-
China's Xi hosts Modi, Putin, Kim in challenge to USSpeed Read Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Asian leaders at an SCO summit
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU officesSpeed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping missionSpeed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
Israeli double strike on Gaza hospital kills 20Speed Read The dead include five journalists who worked for The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kyiv marks independence as Russia downplays peaceSpeed Read President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy for peace talks pushed by President Donald Trump
-
Trump halts Gaza visas as Israelis protest warSpeed Read Laura Loomer voiced her concerns over injured Palestinian kids being brought to the US for treatment and a potential 'Islamic invasion'
