Forecast

Five superpowers ruling the world in 2050



Brexit, coronavirus, and trade tiffs may be making economic headwinds, but despite immediate challenges, the world economy is projected to keep growing at a rapid pace over the next few decades. In fact, by 2050, the global market is projected to double its current size, even as the UN forecasts the world’s population will only grow by a modest 26%.

This growth will bring with it plenty of changes. Though it can be challenging to predict exactly how the future will unfold, most economists agree on one thing: today’s developing markets will be tomorrow’s economic superpowers.

According to The World in 2050 report by international professional services firm PwC, in 30 years, six of the seven of the world’s largest economies will be today’s emerging economies, surpassing the US (dropping from 2nd to 3rd), Japan (dropping from 4th to 8th) and Germany (dropping from 5th to 9th). Even relativelysmaller economies like Vietnam, the Philippines and Nigeria will see huge leaps in their respective rankings over the next three decades, according to the report.

Forecast

Warmer 2019 predicted for Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Observatory has forecast that this year could be one of the hottest years on record and that between four and seven tropical cyclones can be expected in 2019.

This follows Hong Kong’s warmest winter on record with the mean temperature reaching 19.1 degrees C and only three cold days, also the fewest on record, according to a press briefing held on Thursday.

As the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) marked 2015 to 2018 as the four warmest years on record globally, Hong Kong also had warmer than usual weather throughout 2018, with an annual mean temperature of 23.9 degrees.

Observatory director Shun Chi-ming said the tropical cyclone season for this year may start in or after June, with the expectation of between four and seven tropical cyclones coming within 500 kilometers of Hong Kong, which is normal.

Under the effect of global warming and El Niño, the annual mean temperature in 2019 is expected to be above normal, with a high chance of reaching the warmest top 10 on record. Cold days, defined as those with a temperature below 12 degrees, could come down to just one day every winter in a few years’ time.

Forecast

What U.S. Intelligence Predicted the World Would Look Like in 2015

Nine months before the September 11 attacks—and just days after the Supreme Court halted the Florida recount, handing the presidency to George W. Bush—U.S. intelligence officials published an 85-page prediction for what the world would look like in 2015. It's a world that seems familiar in some ways, and utterly foreign in others.