December 21 marks the end of the Mayan Long Calendar, many believe this will mark the end of the world.

The internet is awash with doomsday predictions, ranging from a celestral collision between earth and a mythical planet Nibiru, a massive electromagnetic pulse event, a gigantic solar storm, or the flipping of the earth’s magnetic field.

In nations across the globe many are taking the predictions very seriously. Modern day Mayan priests have been performing rituals in preparation for December 21. Mayans are quick to explain the end of their calendar does not mark the end of the world, but the end of a cycle. December 21 will mark the beginning of a new age upon the earth.

In Russia and parts of China there has been panic buying of essentials, and in America there has been a surge in sales of survival shelters. In the Russian town of Omutninsk, in Kirov region, there was a rush to stoke up on fuel after a newspaper article by a Tibetan monk, supposedly confirmed the end of the world was upon us. The fear and panic became so bad the Russian Prime Minister had to address the situation.

In France the small town of Bugarach is bracing itself for the influx of new agers who are expected to descend on the town, believing it is the place aliens will come to save them from the apocalypse.

NASA has been working hard to calm peoples fears that the planet will be hit by Nibiru, saying there is no evidence of it’s existence.

David Morrison, an astronomer at Nasa, said: “At least once a week I get a message from a young person, as young as 11, who says they are ill and/or contemplating suicide because of the coming doomsday. I think it’s evil for people to propagate rumours on the internet to frighten children.”

In China, which has no history of preoccupation with the end of the world, a wave of paranoia about the apocalypse can be traced to the 2009 Hollywood blockbuster “2012”.

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