Climate collapse: The people who fear society is doomed No scientific study has found that climate change is likely to wipe out civilization, but for many even the possibility is terrifying enough to upend their lives. Rich countries like the US and Australia have seen apocalyptic images of climate change after smoke from wildfires darkened skies above big cities When Typhoon Vamco battered the Philippines in November last year, unleashing a month's worth of rain on the capital Manila in less than 24 hours, Mitzi Jonelle Tan was on her way home from work. Her mother, scared for her safety as roads flooded, warned her not to come back.