The future of humanity is extremely dark, with World War III and a climate-change-induced catastrophe on the horizon. This is according to over 300 political strategists and foresight practitioners who participated in a survey conducted by the Atlantic Council, a global affairs think tank in Washington.

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The survey saw 357 experts weighing in on what the world could look like in 2035. Four in 10 of them predicted that countries like the United States, China, or Russia would become the cause of a major war by 2035. The worldwide conflict would involve nuclear weapons and space will form a key component. 

With the Ukraine war going on, along with the Middle East crisis linked to the Israel-Hamas crisis, the world seems to be staring at a bleak future. Most of the experts think that this is true, while only a handful believe a better world will emerge in the next 10 years.

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The survey saw 62 per cent of respondents saying that the world a decade from now will be "worse off than it is today". Only 38 per cent think that things will improve, the team at the Atlantic Council said.

The group of experts took into consideration certain laws, military groups launched in the past years and more to predict the world of 2035. World War III emerged as the greatest threat humanity faced in the next 10 years.

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The war will have space play a key role, with the group reaching the conclusion based on the establishment of the Space Force by Donald Trump in 2019.

The Space Force is working on "combat-ready capabilities in, from, and to space" to let the US and its allies "deter and, if necessary, defeat any potential threat to US space capabilities."

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Notably, the space department is also expected to play a key role in the setting up and working of the proposed "Golden Dome" that aims to protect the US from missile attacks by enemies.

The strategists also predicted that the war would not bode well for Ukrainians. It would also lead to a decline in America's economic and diplomatic dominance. A nuclear war remains the biggest threat.

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Climate change was cited as the second biggest threat with three in 10 of them saying the world will suffer because of it. A financial crisis is also expected to hit the world, but only 5.1 per cent of them think the world will be crippled by it in 2035. A new pandemic might also be looming, however, only 1.7 per cent think it would become a major crisis for the world.

Climate change and Earth

Climate change emerged as a major problem facing the world among the survey respondents. Human-driver global warming is slowly heating up the world and most experts agree that it would become a major issue in the coming years if appropriate steps aren't taken.

The increasing hurricanes and wildfires are proof that the world is witnessing a disaster that is slowly unfolding. However, the experts saw a silver lining with a majority (51%) of them saying there will be more global cooperation to stop the crisis by 2035.