Doomsday clock: Humanity is as close to destroying itself as it has ever been, experts say
Humanity continues to be in the most danger it has ever been, experts have said
The Doomsday Clock has been left at 90 seconds to midnight, reflecting a “continuing and unprecedented level of risk”, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which organises the clock.
The clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight last year, and it marked the closest to midnight it has ever been. The change was largely made to reflect the danger posed by the Ukraine-Russia war, it said then.
Those threats continue, and others such as disruptive technologies have grown yet more in the past year. The scientists behind the clock urged that the decision not to change it should not lead to complacency.
But it did point to some positive news amid the increased and new dangers. There has been some progress in responding to climate change, it noted – but overall the crisis still threatens humanity’s future.
The countdown was established in 1947 by experts from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists who were working on the Manhattan Project to design and build the first atomic bomb.
It was created to provide a simple way of demonstrating the danger to the Earth and humanity posed by nuclear war.
The clock first started ticking at seven minutes to midnight – and has moved forwards and backwards over the years as the threats to the world changed.
In 2020, it was set at 100 seconds to midnight, and remained unchanged for the next three years.
Although originally intended to warn of the threat of nuclear armageddon, the Doomsday Clock has evolved to take into account the likelihood of other emerging threats such as climate change and advances in biotechnology and artificial intelligence.
The Bulletin is an independent non-profit organisation run by some of the world’s most eminent scientists.
Additional reporting by agencies
