2025 Doomsday Hintercast

In 2025, the United States faced a relentless series of natural disasters, health crises, and social challenges that tested the nation’s resilience. Wildfires tore through the West, with the worst early in the year near Los Angeles. The Palisades Fire burned over 23,000 acres, destroying 6,837 structures and claiming 12 lives, while the Eaton Fire consumed more than 14,000 acres amid drought and fierce Santa Ana winds. Across the country, more than 5 million acres went up in flames, causing tens of billions in damages in California alone. Severe storms, floods, and tornadoes struck from coast to coast. A massive March tornado outbreak produced over 100 confirmed tornadoes, and in July, catastrophic flooding in the Hill Country of central Texas claimed at least 125 lives. The Atlantic churned out 13 named storms, five hurricanes, and four major hurricanes—none of which made landfall, the first time this has happened since 2015. Alaska was shaken by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Sand Point in July and another 7.0 near Hubbard Glacier in December. In the West, drought and water shortages worsened, with the Colorado River Basin remaining parched and fueling fire risk. Extreme heat swept the country, claiming hundreds of lives. Measles cases spiked to 2,444, the largest outbreak in decades, with roughly 49 flare-ups largely affecting under-vaccinated communities. Bird flu, tuberculosis, respiratory illnesses, and influenza added to the public health toll. Homelessness climbed, possibly as much as 15% over the previous year, as rising housing costs and natural disasters displaced thousands, with African Americans disproportionately affected. Mass shootings numbered just above 400, claiming roughly 420 lives and injuring approximately 1,900, down slightly from 2024. Police killings persisted at over 1,000, with stark racial disparities. Suicides remained near 50,000, and calls to crisis lifelines spiked during heat waves and disasters. Immigration enforcement actions reached historically high levels, with hundreds of thousands of deportations and voluntary exits. Food prices climbed, with overall costs up about 2.6% in 2025, groceries rising roughly 2% and meals out closer to 4%. Eggs, ground beef, and coffee were hit particularly hard by bird flu, cattle infestations, aging farmers, limited livestock supplies, and tariffs on imports. Science and federal data collection took major hits, as staffing losses and reporting halted at key agencies—including NOAA, census, BLS, education, agriculture, energy, and health offices—left many formerly reliable statistics incomplete, inconsistent, and no longer comparable to previous years, fundamentally changing how we understand what is happening in the world around us.

This report was originally featured in the 2026 January issue of our newsletter, the Liminal.