In
contemporary history
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is ...
, the third millennium of the
anno Domini
The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...
or
Common Era
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
in the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
is the current
millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
spanning the years 2001 to 3000 (
21st to
30th centuries). Ongoing
futures studies
Futures studies, futures research, futurism or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will l ...
seek to understand what is likely to continue and what could plausibly change in the course of this period and beyond.
Predictions and forecasts not included on this timeline
*
List of future astronomical events
A list of future observable astronomical events. These are by no means all events, but only the notable or rare ones. In particular, it does not include solar eclipses or lunar eclipses unless otherwise notable, as they are far too numerous to lis ...
**
List of lunar eclipses in the 21st century
There will be 230 lunar eclipses in the 21st century (2001–2100): 87 penumbral, 58 partial and 85 total.
Eclipses are listed in sets by lunar years, repeating every 12 months for each node. Ascending node eclipses are given a red background hig ...
**
List of solar eclipses in the 21st century
During the 21st century, there will be 224 solar eclipses of which 77 will be partial, 73 will be annular, 68 will be total and 7 will be hybrids between total and annular eclipses. Of these, two annular and one total eclipse will be non-central ...
*
Projections of population growth
Population projections are attempts to show how the human population statistics might change in the future. These projections are an important input to forecasts of the population's impact on this planet and humanity's future well-being. Models of ...
*
Climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
**
Representative Concentration Pathway
A Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) is a greenhouse gas concentration (not emissions) trajectory adopted by the IPCC. Four pathways were used for climate modeling and research for the IPCC fifth Assessment Report (AR5) in 2014. The pa ...
**
Shared Socioeconomic Pathways
Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) are scenarios of projected socioeconomic global changes up to 2100. They are used to derive greenhouse gas emissions scenarios with different climate policies..
The scenarios are:
*SSP1: Sustainability (Ta ...
*
Extinction
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
*
List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events
Predictions of apocalyptic events that would result in the extinction of humanity, a collapse of civilization, or the destruction of the planet have been made since at least the beginning of the Common Era. Most predictions are related to Ab ...
*
Predictions and claims for the Second Coming
*
Near future in fiction
The near future has been used as a setting in many works, usually but not limited to the genre of science fiction. It has become increasingly common in works from the 18th century onward, with some of the classic works in the genre being Jules Ve ...
* Works falling into the
public domain in the United States
Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by intellectual property rights (such as copyright) at all, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired.
All works first published or released in the United States b ...
21st century
2000s
* See:
2001
*
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
*
2003
*
2004
*
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
*
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
*
2007
*
2008
*
2009
2010s
* See:
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
*
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
*
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
*
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
*
2014
*
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
*
2016
*
2017
*
2018
*
2019
2020s
*See:
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
*
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
*
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
*
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
*
2024
*
2025
*
2026
*
2027
*
2028
*
2029
2030s
2040s
* 2040:
** January 23: Assuming he is still on the throne by this date, Sultan
Hassanal Bolkiah
Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III ( Jawi: ; born 15 July 1946) is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei since 1967 and the Prime Minister of Brunei since independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...
of
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
will break the record of King
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
to become the
longest-reigning monarch in verifiable history.
**
Oman Vision 2040 will focus efforts towards achieving economic diversification.
* 2041:
** The
Antarctic treaty
russian: link=no, Договор об Антарктике es, link=no, Tratado Antártico
, name = Antarctic Treaty System
, image = Flag of the Antarctic Treaty.svgborder
, image_width = 180px
, caption ...
is scheduled to come under review.
** The
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
partnership between
Volkswagen Group China
Volkswagen Group China (VGC; 大众汽车(中国)) is a division of the German automotive concern Volkswagen Group in the People's Republic of China.
Volkswagen Group China enjoys sales of about 3.14 million cars (2017) in the Chinese market ...
and
SAIC Motor
SAIC Motor Corp., Ltd. (formerly Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Anting, Shanghai. Founded in 1955, it is currently the largest of the " Big Four" state-owned car manu ...
is scheduled to end.
* 2042:
** April 30: A
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
time capsule
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...
, sealed in April 1992, is scheduled to be opened.
** September 17:
A common computing representation of date and time on IBM mainframe systems will overflow with potential results similar to the
year 2000 problem
The year 2000 problem, also known as the Y2K problem, Y2K scare, millennium bug, Y2K bug, Y2K glitch, Y2K error, or simply Y2K refers to potential computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after ...
.
* 2045:
Centennial
{{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation)
A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years.
Notable events
Notable centennial events at ...
commemorations of the conclusion of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the fall of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.
* 2047: On July 1, the present "
one country, two systems
"One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
The constitutional principle was formulated in the early ...
" arrangement in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
is scheduled to end, as it was guaranteed for 50 years starting from July 1, 1997, provided under the
Hong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 ...
. The agreement was raised by
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
to deal with
Hong Kong's reunification with the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 1997, and stipulated in the
Sino-British Joint Declaration
The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after ...
of 1984. What will be done is not stated in any document.
* 2048: On January 14, the
Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, also known as the Madrid Protocol, is a complementary legal instrument to the Antarctic Treaty signed in Madrid on October 4, 1991. It entered into force on January 14, 1998.
The ...
is scheduled to come up for review.
* 2049:
** October 1: Scheduled completion of the
Belt and Road Initiative
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road ( zh, link=no, 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 ...
, coinciding with the
100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
** December 20: The present "
One country, two systems
"One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
The constitutional principle was formulated in the early ...
" with
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, guaranteed for 50 years starting from 20 December 1999, provided under the
Basic Law and the
Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau
The Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau, or Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, was a treaty between Portugal and the People's Republic of China over the status of Macau. The full name of the treaty is Joint Declaration of the Government of ...
, will expire.
** By 2049, the
100th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government aims for China to be a "strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious, and modern socialist country."
2050s
* 2050:
**
Three-North Shelter Forest Program
The Great Green Wall, officially known as the Three-North Shelter Forest Program (), also known as the Three-North Shelterbelt Program, is a series of human-planted windbreaking forest strips (shelterbelts) in China, designed to hold back the exp ...
is expected to be completed.
** The
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Joe Biden says his plan will ensure that the United States will be a 100% clean energy economy and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
** Arnulf Jaeger-Walden of the European commission's
Institute for Energy believes that solar power from North Africa can provide 100
GW to the entire continent of Europe.
** Under
a plan announced in July 2016, New Zealand aims to eradicate all non-
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
rats,
possums
Possum may refer to:
Animals
* Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi
** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...
, and
mustelids
The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest famil ...
by this year.
** The
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
is set to retire the
B-52 Bomber
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
from service.
** A
time capsule
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...
in
Rachel, Nevada
Rachel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 48. As the closest settlement to the Nellis Air Force Range and Area 51, Rachel enjoys a modest celebrity status, pa ...
is set to be opened in this year.
* 2051:
** April: One of the
METI messages
Cosmic Call 1
Cosmic commonly refers to:
* The cosmos, a concept of the universe
Cosmic may also refer to:
Media
* ''Cosmic'' (album), an album by Bazzi
* Afro/Cosmic music
* "Cosmic", a song by Kylie Minogue from the album '' X''
* CosM.i.C, a member of ...
sent from the 70-meter
Eupatoria Planetary Radar in 1999 arrives at its destination,
Gliese 777
Gliese 777, often abbreviated as Gl 777 or GJ 777, is a yellow subgiant approximately 52 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus. The system is also a binary star system made up of two stars and possibly a third. As of 2005 ...
star.
** June 1: The
Washington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals loc ...
time capsule is scheduled to be opened, celebrating WSF's 100th anniversary.
* 2052:
** ''
2052: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years'', a 2012 book describing trends in global development written by
Jørgen Randers
Jørgen Randers (born 22 May 1945) is a Norwegian academic, professor emeritus of climate strategy at the BI Norwegian Business School, and practitioner in the field of future studies. as a follow-up to ''
The Limits to Growth
''The Limits to Growth'' (''LTG'') is a 1972 report that discussed the possibility of exponential economic and population growth with finite supply of resources, studied by computer simulation. The study used the World3 computer model to simula ...
'' report by the
Club of Rome.
* 2054:
** November 7: The lease agreement
International Speedway Corporation
International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International ...
has with Daytona Beach Racing and Recreational Facilities District expires.
**
Hawksbill Creek Agreement tax exempt status is scheduled to expire.
* 2057:
** February: A
METI message
Cosmic Call 1
Cosmic commonly refers to:
* The cosmos, a concept of the universe
Cosmic may also refer to:
Media
* ''Cosmic'' (album), an album by Bazzi
* Afro/Cosmic music
* "Cosmic", a song by Kylie Minogue from the album '' X''
* CosM.i.C, a member of ...
sent from the 70-meter
Eupatoria Planetary Radar arrives at its destination,
15 Sge star.
** May: A METI message, called the
Teen Age Message
The Teen Age Message (TAM) was a series of interstellar radio transmissions sent from the Yevpatoria Planetary Radar to six solar-type stars during August–September 2001. The structure of the TAM was suggested by Alexander Zaitsev, Chief Sci ...
, sent from the 70-meter Eupatoria Planetary Radar arrives at its destination,
HD 76151
HD 76151 is a high proper motion, G-type main sequence star (G3/ 5 V or yellow star) in the constellation of Hydra 56.70 light years from earth. It has an apparent visual magnitude of approximately 6.00. An infrared excess has b ...
star.
** December: A METI message, called the Teen Age Message, sent from the 70-meter Eupatoria Planetary Radar arrives at its destination,
37 Gem star.
** In the UK, the
Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL) contract to run the
M6 Toll
The M6 Toll, referred to on signs as the Midland Expressway (originally named the Birmingham Northern Relief Road or BNRR), and stylised as M6toll, connects M6 Junction 3a at the Coleshill Interchange to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with ...
expires.
* 2059: In January, a
METI message, called the
Teen Age Message
The Teen Age Message (TAM) was a series of interstellar radio transmissions sent from the Yevpatoria Planetary Radar to six solar-type stars during August–September 2001. The structure of the TAM was suggested by Alexander Zaitsev, Chief Sci ...
, sent from the 70-meter
Eupatoria Planetary Radar arrives at its destinations,
HD 126053 star and
HD 193664
HD 193664 a star in the northern constellation of Draco (constellation), Draco. HD 193664 is its Henry Draper Catalogue designation. With an apparent magnitude of 5.93, according to the Bortle Scale it is visible to the naked eye from subu ...
star.
2060s
* 2060:
** The
Chinese government
The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...
aims for China to be
carbon neutral
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
.
* 2061:
** September 1: A time capsule at St. Gabriel School in
Biggar,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
, Canada is scheduled to be opened for its 150th anniversary of its school division (
Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools
Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) is Saskatchewan's largest Catholic school division and the third largest school system in the province.
Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools has approximately 20,000 students in 50 schools located in Sask ...
).
** July 24:
Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...
expected to be visible for the first time since the
perihelion
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion.
General description
There are two apsides in any ellip ...
was last reached in 1986.
** December 31: Expiration of the
Singapore-Malaysia Water Agreement.
* 2065:
** The process of cleanup and decommissioning the
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP; ; ), is a nuclear power plant undergoing decommissioning. ChNPP is located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine northwest of the city of Chernobyl, from the Belarus–Ukraine border, ...
, following the 1986
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...
, is projected to be finished.
** November 22:
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
occults
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
, the first
planet-planet occultation since 3 January 1818. The next planet-planet occultation will occur less than two years later, on 15 July 2067 (when Mercury occults Neptune).
* 2068:
** September 29: One of four time capsules at the
Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument is scheduled to be opened 100 years after it was locked.
** May 31: A Solar Eclipse will occur.
2070s
* 2070: According to an announcement made by Indian prime minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
in 2021, India will be carbon neutral.
* 2073: On January 1, assuming no further extensions to the term of copyrights become law in the interim, all media that was published before 1978 (including the first ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' film) will have fallen into the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
in the United States. This year in particular is significant because this is the last year when the terms of the
Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act
The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act – also known as the Copyright Term Extension Act, Sonny Bono Act, or (derisively) the Mickey Mouse Protection Act – extended copyright terms in the United States in 1998. It is one of several ...
will apply; works published after 1977 will generally fall into the public domain after 70 years
post mortem auctoris.
*
2079: For computer software using unsigned 16-bit binary day counts and an epoch of 1 January 1900, the counts will overflow after 65,536 (2
16) days, which will occur on 6 June 2079.
2080s
* 2085: The "secret" letter of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
will be opened in
Sydney, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...
.
* 2088: The
University of Bologna
The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...
, the world's oldest university in continuous operation, will turn 1,000 years old.
[de Ridder-Symoens, Hilde]
''A History of the University in Europe: Volume 1, Universities in the Middle Ages''
Cambridge University Press, 1992, , pp. 47–55
* 2089: During the months of May and June, insect
''Magicicada'' broods
X (17-year) and
XIX (13-year) will emerge simultaneously. This will be the first time this will occur since 1868; next time will be in 2310. This event occurs only once in every 221 years.
2090s
* 2090: The
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund
The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) was created by an Act of Congress, the Air
Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (49 USC 40101), shortly after 9/11 to compensate the victims of the attack (or their families) in excha ...
is set to expire.
* 2092:
** Work on cleaning up the site of the
Oldbury Nuclear Power Station
Oldbury nuclear power station is a Magnox nuclear power station undergoing decommissioning. It is located on the south bank of the River Severn close to the village of Oldbury-on-Severn in South Gloucestershire, England. The ongoing decommi ...
is scheduled to be complete in 2092 (early estimate).
** The second incarnation of a time capsule in
Durazno
Durazno is the capital city of the department of Durazno in Uruguay. Durazno is characterized by being the most central city of Uruguay. It has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants. In the past it was the capital of Uruguay; today the ca ...
, Uruguay, is scheduled to be opened after 100 years atop a pillar. The previous incarnation of the time capsule was created in 1892 and opened in 1992.
* 2094:
** March 19: A
time capsule
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...
sealed exactly seventy-five years before is scheduled to be opened at
Denver International Airport.
** April 7:
Mercury transits
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
, this is the
only known such event of the decade.
* 2097: A time capsule, sealed 100 years earlier, is scheduled to be opened in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
's
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The ...
to celebrate 300 years of the city's incorporation.
* 2099:
**The
99-year lease
A 99-year lease was, under historic common law, the longest possible term of a lease of real property. It is no longer the law in most common law jurisdictions today, yet 99-year leases continue to be common as a matter of business practice and ...
for
Kaufman Astoria Studios
The Kaufman Astoria Studios is a film studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens. The studio was constructed for Famous Players-Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Broadway theater district. The pr ...
in Queens, New York City is set to expire.
**
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
regains control of the
Ontario Highway 407 when its 99-year lease expires.
**2099 is the maximum year that can be set on computers with
BIOS
In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the ...
firmware, as well as Microsoft's
Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...
,
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...
,
Windows 7
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...
,
Windows 8
Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012; it was subsequently made available for downl ...
, and
Windows 8.1 operating systems, and Sony's
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
and the
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
gaming platforms.
2100s
* 2100:
**On 14 March (which will be 29 February in the Julian calendar), the difference between the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar reaches 14 days. Since 14 is divisible by 7, this will be the first time in history since its inception that the Gregorian calendar has the same day of the week for each day of the year as the Julian calendar. This will last until 28 February 2200 of the Gregorian Calendar.
**On January 1, a
time capsule
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...
placed in
Hòa Bình Dam
The Hòa Bình Dam on the Black River () is the largest hydroelectric dam in Vietnam from 1994 to 2012 (this record was broken by Sơn La Dam), and one of the largest in Southeast Asia, with a generating capacity of . The Sông Đà Reservoir, ...
, Vietnam, in 1984 is scheduled to be opened.
**
Silverstein Properties' 99-year lease
A 99-year lease was, under historic common law, the longest possible term of a lease of real property. It is no longer the law in most common law jurisdictions today, yet 99-year leases continue to be common as a matter of business practice and ...
on the
World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may refer to:
Buildings
* List of World Trade Centers
* World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
expires.
22nd century
2100s
* 2103: Per an agreement between the
National Archives and
Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (born November 27, 1957) is an American author, attorney, and diplomat serving in the Biden administration as the United States Ambassador to Australia since 2022. She previously served in the Obama administration as th ...
, the
jacket Jackie Kennedy
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...
wore on the day
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
was assassinated cannot be displayed in public until this year.
*
FAT file systems theoretically support dates up to 31 December 2107 (though officially only up to 31 December 2099).
* 2109: On April 27, a
time capsule
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...
placed under the floor boards of the
Old Queens
Old Queens is the oldest extant building at Rutgers University and is the symbolic heart of the university's campus in New Brunswick in Middlesex County, New Jersey in the United States. Rutgers, the eighth-oldest college in the United States, wa ...
Building at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
, in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, buried on 27 April 2009, is scheduled to be opened.
2110s
* The
Chernobyl New Safe Confinement reaches end of designed lifetime in the 2110s.
* 2110: On 19 September, a time capsule at the Plaza de Armas in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
is intended to be opened. It was buried in 2010.
*2111: The will of
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
is scheduled to become public knowledge.
* 2112:
** November 18: The city of
Beaumont, California
Beaumont is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located at the summit of the San Gorgonio Pass, between the San Bernardino Mountains and Mount San Gorgonio to the north, and the San Jacinto Mountains and San Jacinto Peak to ...
in the United States is scheduled to open a time capsule in honour of its bicentennial.
** A time capsule buried in Weavers Academy, Wellingborough, UK, will be opened after 100 years of being buried.
** The will of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
is scheduled to become public knowledge.
* 2115:
** The first book from the
Future Library project
The Future Library project ( Norwegian: ''Framtidsbiblioteket'') is a public artwork that aims to collect an original work by a popular writer every year from 2014 to 2114. The works will remain unread and unpublished until 2114. One thousand trees ...
will be published, 100 years after being submitted by author
Margaret Atwood.
** The One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI100) initiated by
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
will be concluded.
** November 18: On November 18, 2015,
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...
and
John Malkovich
John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...
teamed up with
Louis XIII de Rémy Martin (cognac) to create a film called ''
100 Years''. It was put into a time capsule that will remain sealed until November 18, 2115, the day of the film's premiere and the 100th anniversary of the film being made.
* 2116:
China Merchants Port
China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited () is a major conglomerate based in Hong Kong and is involved in a range of businesses such as port operations, general and bulk cargo transportation, container and shipping business, air cargo, lo ...
's
99-year lease
A 99-year lease was, under historic common law, the longest possible term of a lease of real property. It is no longer the law in most common law jurisdictions today, yet 99-year leases continue to be common as a matter of business practice and ...
on
Hambantota International Port
The Hambantota International Port (used to known as the Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port or the Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port) is a deep water port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka. It was opened on 18 November 2010, and is Sri Lanka's second ...
in Sri Lanka is set to expire.
* 2117: A song titled "100 Years", composed by
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
, will be released to the public. The song was performed by Williams at a private party in Shanghai, China, in 2017. The song is said to have addressed global warming.
2120s
* 2120: In November, a South African vault of thousands of time capsules containing present-day information for future generations' use will be opened, 101 years after burial. The Vault 2120 is located at Maropeng in the Cradle of Humankind and was sealed in November 2019. The vault will only be opened in the year 2120. The vault and its thousands of time capsules have been buried at least two metres underground at the Maropeng Visitor Centre.
2130s
* 2132: A time capsule on Rideau Street in
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Canada is intended to be opened that year. It was buried in 1982.
2140s
* 2140: All
Bitcoin
Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distr ...
s are expected to be mined.
2150s
* 2155: The Year type in
MySQL
MySQL () is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). Its name is a combination of "My", the name of co-founder Michael Widenius's daughter My, and "SQL", the acronym for Structured Query Language. A relational database o ...
supports dates up to 31 December 2155.
2160s
2170s
2180s
*2182: On 24 September, asteroid
101955 Bennu has a 1-in-2,700 chance of impacting Earth.
2190s
* 2193: A time capsule at the
York Civic Centre
The York Civic Centre is a government building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 2700 Eglinton Avenue West in the neighbourhood of Beechborough-Greenbrook. The building is used by the Toronto West Court Office and was the seat of the ...
in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada is scheduled to be opened that year.
[York Civic Centre](_blank)
Freebase (23 October 2006). Retrieved on 2014-01-19. It was buried in 1997.
23rd century
* 2227–2247:
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...
will be closer to the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
than
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
is for the first time since the year
1999.
* 2265: Return of the
Great Comet of 1861.
* 2285: On March 22, Easter will occur on its earliest possible date for the first time since the year
1818.
24th century
* 2333: It is projected that the
Dounreay
Dounreay (; gd, Dùnrath) is a small settlement and the site of two large nuclear establishments on the north coast of Caithness in the Highland area of Scotland. It is on the A836 road west of Thurso.
The nuclear establishments were create ...
nuclear site will be safe to use for other purposes.
* 2353: The
date of Easter as conventionally calculated will be five weeks earlier than its hypothetical date according to astronomical principles, in a "negative equinoctial paradox". Along with 2372, this will be one of only two such occurrences between 2020 and 4000.
* 2372: The date of Easter will see another "negative equinoctial paradox", this time four weeks earlier than its hypothetical date. This will be the last such occurrence before the year 4000.
* 2391:
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...
and
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
will coincide for the first time since 1940; the "wearing of the shamrock and the palm together" was seen as presaging a great event in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
* 2400: The first
century leap year
A century leap year is a leap year in the Gregorian calendar that is evenly divisible by 400.
Like all leap years, it has an extra day in February for a total of 366 days instead of 365. In the obsolete Julian calendar, all years that were divisi ...
since 2000.
25th century
* 2439 (estimated): The "
Across the Universe" message broadcast by NASA in 2008 will reach
Polaris.
* 2464: A time capsule buried at
Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 14
Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) is a launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. LC-14 was used for various manned and unmanned Atlas launches, including the February 1962, ''Friendship 7'' flight aboard which John Glenn became the f ...
in the United States is intended to be opened.
* 2492: The 1,000th anniversary of
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
' 1492 arrival in America.
26th century
* c. 2500: Climate projections predict a barren landscape for the
Amazon rainforest
The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
amid low water levels due to vegetation decline.
27th century
* 2640: On September 5, the 639-year-long performance of
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
's organ work ''
As Slow as Possible
''Organ2/ASLSP'' (''As Slow as Possible'') is a musical piece by John Cage and the subject of one of the longest-lasting musical performances yet undertaken. Cage wrote it in 1987 for organ, as an adaptation of his 1985 composition ''ASLSP'' f ...
'' (begun in 2001) is scheduled to finish at the St. Burchardi Church in
Halberstadt
Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...
, Germany.
28th century
29th century
* The St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery (Happy Valley) in Hong Kong lease on Wanzai's Saint Fulan gentleman street will end after a 999-year lease, assuming no legal status changes before that date.
* 2883: On January 4, the CPR (
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
) lease on the O&Q (
Ontario and Quebec) will end, after a 999-year lease.
30th century
* 2968: The
Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument in
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...
, contains four separate
time capsule
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...
s, the last of which is intended to be opened 1,000 years after the Time Columns Monument was locked in 1968.
* 2999:
** The time capsule in
Chinook Centre
Chinook Centre (formally branded as "CF Chinook Centre") is the largest shopping mall in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located near the geographic centre of the city on Macleod Trail, north of Glenmore Trail about south of downtown, and three ...
in
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
is scheduled to be opened on 31 December 2999 after being sealed in
1999.
** The
Longplayer
''Longplayer'' is a self-extending composition by British composer and musician Jem Finer which is designed to continue for one thousand years. It started to play at midnight on 1 January 2000, and if all goes as planned, it will continue wi ...
composition is set to finish on 31 December 2999, marking the end of the thousand-year piece of music which began on 1 January 2000.
See also
*
Timelines of the future There are some articles regarding this topic:
* 3rd millennium, up to the year 3000
* Timeline of the far future, events beyond the year 3000
* List of future astronomical events
A list of future observable astronomical events. These are by no me ...
*
Anthropocene
The Anthropocene ( ) is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change.
, neither the International Commissio ...
*
Foresight (psychology) Foresight is the ability to predict, or the action of predicting, what will happen or what is needed in the future. Studies suggest that much of human daily thought is directed towards potential future events. Because of this and its role in human ...
*
Outline of futures studies
*
Technology forecasting
Technology forecasting attempts to predict the future characteristics of useful technological machines, procedures or techniques. Researchers create technology forecasts based on past experience and current technological developments. Like other ...
Notes
References
{{Authority control