'We are on the brink': only 90 seconds left before the death of mankind on the Doomsday Clock
The hands of the symbolic Doomsday Clock have been moved 10 seconds closer to nuclear midnight. The decision to move the arrows was made because of the situation around Ukraine. NBC.
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As Rachel Bronson, president of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said, this means that there are 90 seconds left before the “nuclear apocalypse point”. Humanity is facing a time of "unprecedented danger" that has increased the likelihood of an apocalypse, a team of scientists announced on January 23.
French Newsletter — a non-profit organization made up of scientists, former political leaders, and experts in the field of security and technology — has moved the hands of the symbolic clock forward 10 seconds, 90 seconds before midnight.
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The adjustment was made in response to nuclear threats, climate change and infectious diseases such as Covid-19. It is the closest to the symbolic death of mankind since the watch was created over 75 years ago.
Bulletin was founded in 1947 to study global security issues related to science and technology at the initiative of a group of scientists who were involved in the American atomic bomb project. Each year, the group consults with a board of sponsors to analyze the world's most pressing threats to determine where the hands of the Doomsday Clock should be pointed.
“We live in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock reflects that reality,” said Rachel Bronson. “This decision was not easy for our experts.”
The Doomsday Clock was created to convey to humanity the nearness of catastrophic threats, serving as a metaphor for public and world leaders rather than a predictive tool. In 1947, the clock was set to 7 minutes to midnight, where "midnight" meant the apocalypse caused by human activity. At the height of the Cold War they were set to 2 minutes to midnight.
In 2020, Bulletin set the Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds before midnight. For the first time, they moved within the two-minute mark. For the next two years, the arrows remained unchanged.
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Now scientists say humanity is perilously close to disaster.
In particular, Russia's invasion of Ukraine increased the risk of nuclear escalation, they said. As the United States, Russia and China modernize their nuclear arsenals, the nuclear threat from North Korea, India and Pakistan also increases, said Steve Vetter, a professor of public policy at the University of Maryland and a member of the Bulletin research department.
“From almost every point of view, the risk of a nuclear catastrophe is higher today than last year,” Vetter said at a briefing on January 24.
The climate crisis also remains a major threat. Bulletin scientists note that while carbon emissions declined in 2020 due to worldwide lockdowns, they recovered to record highs in 2021 and increased again in 2022.
“As emissions continue to rise, extreme weather events continue and are even more clearly linked to climate change,” said Sivan Kartha, a senior fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute and a member of the Bulletin Science and Security Council.
Kartha added, however, that renewable energy innovation has been a bright spot, along with the active participation of the younger generation who are passionately pushing for more action to combat climate change.
“There is a generation coming up now that will be our leaders in the future that is concerned about climate change,” Carta said. “They are concerned about it as a personal issue.”
According to Bulletin scientists, in addition to addressing the effects of global warming, countries must reduce the risks of outbreaks of infectious diseases and other biological threats.
This year, the organization hopes the watch will be a wake-up call for world leaders and members of the public.
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“The Doomsday Clock is sounding the alarm for all of humanity,” said Mary Robinson, chair of the NGO The Elders and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “We are on the edge of an abyss.”
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