A scientific study published in 1960 has resurfaced online after predicting that the world’s population would reach an impossible mathematical limit on November 13, 2026. However, the prediction does not mean that the Earth will literally end next month.
The study, titled “Doomsday: Friday, 13 November, A.D. 2026,” was published in the journal Science by physicist Heinz von Foerster and his colleagues Patricia M. Mora and Lawrence W. Amiot. It examined historical population data and projected that, if population growth continued accelerating at the same rate, the global population would approach infinity on the specified date.
The researchers warned that unchecked population growth could eventually put enormous pressure on resources and living space. Their argument was based on a mathematical model, not a prediction of an asteroid strike, nuclear disaster or the sudden destruction of humanity.
However, the assumptions behind the forecast did not hold over the following decades. Birth rates declined in many countries, and global population growth slowed considerably.
The United Nations currently projects that the world’s population will reach approximately 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s before gradually declining. This outlook differs significantly from the accelerating growth assumed by the 1960 study.
As November 13, 2026, approaches, the study has attracted renewed attention on social media. Scientists and demographic projections, however, provide no credible evidence that the world will end on that date.
The study remains a historical example of how mathematical forecasts can produce dramatic results when past trends are assumed to continue indefinitely.
