existential threats
Civilization-ending perils ahead
Existential threats are dangers that could cause the complete destruction or permanent crippling of something—a species, civilization, or way of life.
Climate change and nuclear war are commonly cited existential threats to humanity.
The phrase appears frequently in policy discussions: AI poses an existential threat to certain jobs.
Organizations face existential threats when their survival is at stake.
- supervolcanoMassive eruption-capable geological formation
- extinction eventCatastrophic biodiversity collapse
- overpopulationUnsustainable density of inhabitants
- nuclear weaponsExplosive devices using fission
- weapons of mass destructionArms causing widespread casualties
asteroid impact · economic collapse · societal collapse · bioweapons · systemic inequality · pandemics · solar flares · misinformation campaigns · glacial melting · black holes · biodiversity loss · food insecurity · antibiotic resistance · climate change · global warming · rising sea levels · cyberwarfare · ocean acidification
existential threatspetty annoyances
first-world problems · nuisances · small potatoes · hiccups · bumps in the road
existential, existence, exist, exists, existed, existing, existent, existentialism, existentialist