The Fate of the World: a History and Future of the Climate Crisis

Delving into deep time, Bill McGuire explains what is happening to our climate in the early decades of the twenty-first century and beyond.
About this Event

Bill McGuire introduces his new book, published in May 2026, in which he delves into what geologists call ‘deep time’. Through this we can see both cause and effect: how the climate has changed before and what the outcomes were. We don’t need to make guesses, educated or otherwise, because all the evidence is laid out for us in the rocks and sediments, in the ice sheets, and in the remains of ancient life, making up the repository of information he uses to build and develop the core message of this book. This is how our planet remembers the past, and how it can shed light on what is happening to our climate in the early decades of the twenty-first century and beyond. The geological record is never wrong.

6.30pm Welcome and refreshments

7pm Bill McGuire speaks

7.45-8.30pm Q&A and discussion

Bill McGuire is a volcanologist, climate scientist, activist and a best-selling writer of popular science and speculative fiction. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Geophysical and Climate Hazards at University College London, a co-director of the New Weather Institute, and a patron of Scientists for Global Responsibility.

In 1996, Bill was a Senior Scientist at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory and in 2010 a member of the Science Advisory Group in Emergencies (SAGE) addressing the Icelandic volcanic ash problem. He was a member of the UK Government Natural Hazard Working Group established in 2005 in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami, and a co-author of its report: The Role of Science in Natural Hazard Assessment. His later work has focused on climate change and its impacts, particularly upon the solid Earth, and he was a contributor to the 2012 IPCC SREX report on climate change and extreme events.

Bill's books include A Guide to the End of the World: Everything you Never Wanted to Know (2002), Waking the Giant: How a Changing Climate Triggers Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Volcanoes (2012), Hothouse Earth: an Inhabitant's Guide (2022), and a debut novel, Skyseed (2020). The Fate of the World: a History and Future of the Climate Crisis was published in May 2026. His short stories have been published online and in anthologies. Bill writes for many newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The Times, The Observer, The Independent, The Scotsman, New Scientist, Science Focus, Prospect, the Big Issue and Wired.

Bill presented two BBC Radio 4 series, Disasters in Waiting and Scientists Under Pressure, along with the End of the World Reports on Channel 5 and Sky News. He has also contributed to many other television and radio programmes and was consultant and main contributor for the lauded BBC Horizon films; Supervolcanoes and Megatsunami - Wave of Destruction, as well as for the BBC drama, Supervolcano. Other TV credits include The Big Breakfast, Richard & Judy and The Terry & Gabby Show. He also co-presented Project Doomsday live with comedy duo, Robin & Partridge, and 'stars' in the Climate Science Translated film short with comedian and actor, Kiri Pritchard-McLean.