Space agency NASA have confirmed the possibility that an asteroid could collide with Earth in just seven years. The chance that the asteroid, named 2024 YR4, could hit the earth is 1 in 43, a 2.3% possibility.

Currently moving away from us, 2024 YR4 passed by Earth at a distance of 828,800 kilometres on Christmas Day 2024. However, it's expected to return, getting uncomfortably close in December 2032.

The asteroid, which measures between 40 to 100 metres wide, has been dubbed 'the city destroyer' due to its potential to cause significant damage on Earth. Consequently, a NASA engineer has revealed the countries that could be hit by the rock if it does descend from space in seven years.

The official stance from the agency is that they are keeping a close eye on YR4 as an object of interest, so it's not something to lose sleep over just yet. But if it does strike, NASA assures that the damage would be 'localised', rather than resulting in a dinosaur-style extinction event.

Considering this minuscule chance of collision, experts like David Rankin, an engineer with NASA’s Catalina Sky Survey Project, have mapped out a 'risk corridor'. 

A report by Wired highlights that, according to the asteroid’s tracked trajectory, if it were on a collision course with Earth, specialists estimate that 2024 YR4 could land within a band of land ranging from northern South America across the Pacific Ocean to southern Asia, the Arabian Sea, and Africa. This means countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sudan, Nigeria, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador would potentially be in danger.

NASA explains that ongoing observations of the asteroid’s orbit will improve understanding of its 'impact probability'. On a positive note, they mention the possibility that 2024 YR4 might be dismissed as an impact threat, as has been the case with many objects previously included on NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory asteroid risk catalogue.

Nonetheless, NASA also cautions: "It is also possible its impact probability will continue to rise." In the event, that it does collide with Earth in 2032, the asteroid would smash into the planet at great speed, estimated to be about 17 kilometres per second, which translates to approximately 38,000 miles per hour.