So Many Systems Will Collapse in 2038

Wild stuff will happen on January 19, 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC, potentially crashing millions of systems worldwide.

But why???

Currently, many systems store date as a 32-bit int (max: 2,147,483,647).

Unix time starts from Jan 1, 1970 - which means that on Jan 19 2038, it will overflow, and think it's Dec 13, 1901.

We need to switch to a 64-bit int.

What if we don't switch?

A lot of logic is dependent on the correct date. Think:

• ATMs will refuse cards, because the system will think they're issued in 1901,
• Elevators will stop, because the inspection date will be overdue for 137 years,
• And tons of similar problems.

Can't we just update it?

Surely we can, but just on some devices. It's very easy to do it on modern phones, laptops, Web apps.

But... We have so many more that are much harder:

• Embedded firmware,
• IoT devices,
• Legacy mainframes (Some bank systems still run on COBOL),
• Industrial equipment,
• Medical devices,
• Car software.

Many of those things were designed without even a possibility of updates.

Many of those companies won't exist anymore, so nobody won't be able to do updates, even if possible.

Will 64-bit int have the same problem?

Probably not, because 64-bit int will overflow in the year 292 billion, and since the entire Universe apparently exists for "only" 13 billion, it's a bit unlikely that we'll have problems with it. But you never know, maybe something like in this image below happens...

Happy New Year

Because every New Year, we're 1 year closer to the massive overflow, and we have 1 year less to migrate...