French seer Nostradamus continues to offer a wealth of insight when it comes to predicting future events.
This year is no exception. The 16th-century prophet foresaw a host of spine-chilling occurrences that appear to be unfolding before our very eyes.
Nostradamus composed all of his predictions in cryptic quatrains, each said to contain the fate of global events.
Many featured in his landmark 1555 work 'The Prophecies', which contains no fewer than 942 quatrains.
The quatrain in question reads: "Seven months great war, people dead through evil/ Rouen, Evreux the King will not fail."
It is easy to draw parallels between this verse and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, reports the Times Of India. Some argue that Nostradamus predicted warfare previously, with his phrase "Within two cities, there will be scourges the like of which was never seen".
This is widely believed to have foretold the atomic bombs dropped by America on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the close of the Second World War.
Among the more unusual of Nostradamus' predictions, this passage declares "The great swarm of bees will arise by the night ambush". Some suggest this could come to pass next year, as the passage corresponds with the number 26.
Nevertheless, it remains unclear what the bees might represent, as it appears unlikely that a substantial bee swarm could cause serious damage through "ambush".
According to the 26th verse of Century I, Nostradamus forecasts "the great man will be struck down in the day by a thunderbolt".
This prominent figure could be anyone from royalty, a world leader or a famous celebrity.
However, what's certain is that this individual will be struck by lightning during daylight hours. Could we be preparing for a lightning strike on a red carpet in 2026?
This prophecy is deeply unsettling - and can be connected to a particular location in modern times.
His chilling verse states: "Because of the favour that the city will show... the Ticino will overflow with blood..." Switzerland's scenic Italian-speaking canton faces a grim prediction ahead.
The blood could represent a mass casualty incident, a disease ravaging the area, or some kind of natural catastrophe. Critics contend that Nostradamus wrote his works in Middle French using deliberately vague Latin expressions.
Furthermore, countless manuscripts, transcription mistakes and differing interpretations of his writings throughout the centuries make it difficult to establish what the prophet genuinely meant.
