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Global warming is horrifyingly beginning to mirror the Bible's ‘end of the world’ scenario.
We've had our fair share of doom and gloom this year. The Doomsday Clock is creeping closer to midnight than at any point in its history, and scientists warn of the horrific number of people who will die as a result of global warming.
Meanwhile, Sir David Attenborough has laid out the grim trajectory humanity faces over the next few decades if current trends continue.
Now, an ancient prophecy is resurfacing and its similarities to what's happening on Earth right now are hard to ignore.
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Written about 95 to 96 AD, the Book of Revelation contains a warning that predates the concept of climate change by nearly two millennia. It states that if the Euphrates River dries up, an apocalypse will soon follow.
The Bible passage reads: "The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East."
The Euphrates is the longest river in western Asia, stretching nearly 1,800 miles from eastern Turkey through Syria and Iraq before joining the Tigris and flowing into the Persian Gulf. It is one of only two rivers said in the Bible to flow from the Garden of Eden - the Tigris being the other - and has been at the heart of human civilisation for thousands of years.
The region it runs through is historically known as the Fertile Crescent, where communities have depended on the river for fresh water, agriculture and survival since ancient times.
However, scientific data has painted a bleak picture for its future. Satellite imagery shows that 34 cubic miles of freshwater have disappeared from the region since 2003. That's about the same size as 13 Olympic swimming pools.
Droughts are worsening, temperatures are rising, and growing populations are straining the already-limited water resources. Climate experts have warned that if current trends continue, the Euphrates could effectively dry out by 2040, Metro reported.
The story goes that before Armageddon arrives, the river is expected to dry up after an angel pours out one of the symbolic ‘seven bowls’ of judgment.
Jay Famiglietti, a hydrologist and professor at the University of California, describes the alarming situation we could be facing.
"The rate was especially striking after the 2007 drought, meanwhile, demand for fresh water continues to rise, and the region does not coordinate its water management because of different interpretations of international laws," he explained.
Pointing to the data, Famiglietti added that the 'alarming rate of decrease in total water storage in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins currently has the second fastest rate of groundwater storage loss on Earth, after India'.
When you consider the wider basin where the two rivers meet, the total water loss reaches a whopping 90 cubic kilometres.
“That's enough water to meet the needs of tens of millions to more than a hundred million people in the region each year, depending on regional water-use standards and availability,” he said, according to NASA.
