‘A great war, economic ruin and climate catastrophe’: Nostradamus’s depressing outlook for 2023

The world is facing another ‘great war’ and economic ruin in 2023 – at least according to the predictions of 16th century astrologer Nostradamus.

In his famous book ‘Les Propheties’, published in 1555 and featuring 942 poetic verses, known as quatrains, the Frenchman is said to have predicted the future.

Nostradamus is believed by some to have predicted 9/11, the devastation caused by global warming, the rise of Adolf Hitler and even the advancements in AI technology.

The world is facing another ‘great war’ and economic ruin in 2023 – at least according to the predictions of 16th century astrologer Nostradamus (pictured)

Described as the ‘Prophet of Doom’, the doctor was inspired by biblical texts and his own experiences of plague, with his predictions focused on famine and sorrow.

More than 400 years after Nostradamus published his book, his work remains popular because his predictions are entirely open to interpretation and could mean anything.

Here, MailOnline looks at some of Nostradamus’s predictions for the next year.

A ‘great war’ waged by ‘evil’ forces 

‘Seven months great war, people dead through evil.’

Ukrainian soldiers fire a Pion artillery system at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, December 16, 2022

The workings of Nostradamus foresaw a ‘great war’ in the year 2023.  

The ominous prediction comes at a time of heightened global tensions between the world’s leading superpowers. 

Russia is growing increasingly desperate as Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has so far failed to secure any semblance of victory. 

Could the 75-year-old dictator snap and go nuclear on its former Soviet satellite state? Or could he declare war on a NATO ally after sabotaging more underwater cables? 

Or perhaps an emboldened China will spark a confrontation with the US with an invasion of Taiwan, or over disputed territory in the South China Sea?

Elsewhere, tensions could resurface between Pakistan and India, two nuclear-capable powers who frequently have skirmishes over disputed territory in Kashmir and Jammu. 

However for those who believe in Nostradamus’ abilities to see into the future, the ‘seven months’ description could offer some solace. 

It hints at a conventional war, given that any battle involving the exchange of nuclear bombs would be over within a matter of hours. 

‘The light on Mars will go out’

A prediction from Nostradamus says ‘the light on Mars will go out’ 

This is another cryptic message in the same quatrain that predicts a ‘great war’. 

Could this be a warning for Elon Musk, whose SpaceX company is planning to send people to Mars by the year 2026? 

Perhaps his dream of populating the red planet will somehow vaporise next year. 

It comes as his Twitter takeover was widely criticised in 2022, with scores of users, including several celebrities, deactivating their accounts. 

According to reports, the world’s richest man lost $92bn of his fortune after buying Twitter this year. 

It could also hint of issues for NASA’s exploration programme. Its Perseverance Rover is currently on the Red Planet, taking pictures and collecting samples.   

One will hope there is no risk to the actual planet Mars itself through some form of catastrophic astrological event. 

Economic disaster

‘So high will the bushel of wheat rise, that man will be eating his fellow man’.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in November 2022

This chilling prediction paints the picture of a total collapse in food supply networks, with some people left so desperate they resort to cannibalism. 

Could it be a sign of dire things to come as the war in Ukraine wages on? It comes after Putin blockaded shipments of grain out of the war-torn country this year. 

One of the blocked ships in October had been carrying a vital 40,000 tonnes of wheat to Ethiopia under a UN Aid programme. 

Meanwhile, the cost of food around the world soared, contributing to cost-of-living crises and increasing poverty rates, including in the UK. 

But there are other factors at play, as the world’s biggest economies struggle to rebound following the devastating Covid pandemic, threatening a new economic downturn. 

In the UK, a recession is on the cards after the economy shrunk by 0.2% between July and September. 

And in a gloomy outlook report for 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted ‘the worst is yet to come’. 

‘For many people 2023 will feel like a recession,’ it said, predicting an economic contraction in at least a third of the world.  

Climate change to accelerate

‘For forty years the rainbow will not be seen. For forty years it will be seen every day.

‘The dry earth will grow more parched, and there will be great floods when it is seen.’

Homes are surrounded by floodwaters in Sohbat Pur city, a district of Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province in August 

This particular prophecy appears quite apt given the current state of the climate.

Europe saw its worst drought in 500 years in 2022, while the Horn of Africa is currently experiencing the longest and most severe drought on record, threatening millions of people with starvation.

There were also catastrophic floods in Pakistan between June and October, killing more than 1,700 people and causing more than £14billion worth of damage.

If Nostradamus’s prediction is to be believed, next year could see even worse climate disasters – although one hopes nothing that will last for 40 years.

Revolt and civil unrest

‘Sooner and later you will see great changes made, dreadful horrors and vengeances’  

‘The trumpet shakes with great discord. An agreement broken: lifting the face to heaven: the bloody mouth will swim with blood; the face anointed with milk and honey lies on the ground.’

A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in support of Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the Islamic Republic’s morality police, on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul on September 20, 2022

These Nostradamus quatrains warn of potential civil unrest and uprisings – and come at a time of increasing tensions between the classes and other groups, in both western democracies and more autocratic states.

There is a growing disdain against the super wealthy, who have continued to grow their astronomical wealth despite the Covid pandemic, which has left the overwhelming majority of the world’s population poorer.

Could the lower economic classes launch some kind of a revolt, similar to the US Capitol Riot in January 2021?

This year has also seen other potential revolts, including in Iran, where protests and demonstrations continue following the murder of a woman by the country’s so-called ‘morality police’. The country says it is shutting the force down, but will this be enough to stop the tide of widespread resistance?

According to the global protest tracker, more than 132 countries have experienced ‘significant protests’ in 2022, with almost a quarter (23 per cent), lasting for more than three months.