A growing number of global health specialists argue that humanity may be edging far closer to its next devastating pandemic than most people are prepared to accept. Although no scientific model can name a precise year, the accelerating warning signs suggest a tightening window and an international system dangerously unprepared for what comes next. The idea that an explosive global outbreak could emerge before the decade closes is no longer the territory of fringe speculation. It reflects a rapidly deteriorating biological environment that is quietly positioning the world for a crisis potentially more destructive than anything in recent memory. Across continents, the conditions that drive pandemics are intensifying at a pace that alarm researchers. Environmental disruption is pushing wildlife into unprecedented proximity with dense human settlements. Industrialized agriculture is creating vast viral breeding grounds where pathogens multiply and mutate with remarkable speed. ...