In the year 2038, a major technical crisis can shake the whole world. This is not a story of a science fiction film, but a real technical threat, which is being called “Year 2038 Problem”. On January 19, 2038, a time will come at 3:14:07 am when the time of many computer systems will go back 137 years, that is, the date will automatically be on December 13, 1901.

Why will this happen?

At the root of this danger is a 32-bit computer system, which store time in Unix Time Format. Unix Time counts seconds from January 1, 1970 till now. These old systems store time as a 32-bit signed integer, which has a maximum limit: 2,147,483,647 seconds. This limit will be completed on January 19, 2038 at 3:14:07 am. After this, the time will automatically reset and reach the year 1901.

What will be its effect?

In the beginning it will seem only a date disturbance, but its effect can be very dangerous:

Data corruption: Due to the wrong date, many software can record data incorrectly.

System Crash: Operating systems and applications can stop working when the date is disturbed.

Economic loss: Banking systems and financial data can be wrong, which can cause loss of billions.

Danger of life: If the critical systems like hospitals, airplane software, power grid are on 32-bit, then this disturbance can prove to be fatal.

Why did this problem not be prepared yet?

This problem was detected in 2006, but till now many systems have not been upgraded. Many reasons account for this:

1. Expensive upgrade: It is very expensive to bring the old system on 64-bit, especially for developing and poor countries.

2. Danger of Closing System: Many systems have to be closed for upgrades, which is not possible at times -such as hospitals, ATM networks or air traffic control.

3. Old Equipment: It is also technically difficult to upgrade some old hardware.

What is the solution?

There is only one way to avoid this dangerous crisis:

Upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit system.

The 64-bit system can handle the time for 292 billion years, that is, such a problem will not come again.

However, for this- Worldwide Cooperation is necessary. Governments and industry will have to work together. Special solution will have to be prepared for the systems that cannot be upgraded immediately.