This week, the Sears Tower in Chicago collapsed, London was swallowed by the Thames and Atlanta was taken over by wild beasts on a television show called Life After People. Ordinarily the History Channel, which aired it, uses old footage and photographs to bring the past to life. But last year the network decided to envision, with the help of time-lapse photography and computer graphics, what would happen to the world if, from some unspecified cause, every last human being died. Over the course of two hours, highways disappeared under meadows, collapsing cities turned into verdant hillocks and automobiles crumbled into dust.

It was macabre but riveting. Life After People became the most-watched programme in the history of the History Channel. Hence this season’s 10-part follow-up, which has just begun to air. It is not the only evidence of a new fascination with human extinction. Two years ago in the US, Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us became one of the top 10 non-fiction bestsellers of the year. This spring Fox bought the rights to turn it into a major film.