A group of international scientists and politicians has moved the symbolic doomsday clock 10 seconds closer to midnight. The clock is now at 23 hours, 58 minutes and 30 seconds, or 90 seconds to midnight. The clock has never been so close to midnight in its 76 years of existence.
Midnight is on the symbolic clock for the end of humanity caused by man himself. The doomsday clock is maintained by the non-profit organization Bulletin of Atomic Scientists in Chicago.
The main reason for the clock moving forward is the war in Ukraine. In the explanatory statement, the scientists say that “at stake are the sovereignty of Ukraine and the broader European security arrangements that have largely endured since the end of World War II.”
Russia’s war against Ukraine also raises “profound questions” about how countries interact, the organization says. “As a result, negotiations that should reduce global risks are under pressure.”
Russia’s “thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalating the conflict – accidental, deliberate or miscalculated – is a terrible risk. The likelihood of the conflict spiraling out of control remains high,” writes the organization.
Next to war and the nuclear danger, climate change is the greatest risk to humanity. Biological hazards such as pandemics, disruptive technologies and the spread of dangerous falsehoods are also mentioned.
Clock was moved 25 times earlier
The clock was invented in 1947 by the University of Chicago. Then the clock showed seven minutes to twelve. The main threat then was global nuclear war. Scientists assess once a year whether the clock should be moved back. In total, the clock has now been moved 26 times.
The last time the clock was moved forward was in 2019, when the hand moved 20 seconds closer to midnight, to 23 hours, 58 minutes and 20 seconds. The world was safest in 1991, at the end of the Cold War, when the clock read 17 minutes to midnight.
