The Doomsday Clock, which represents how close humanity is to annihilation, has been advanced by one second to 89 seconds before midnight, the closest it has ever been.
Climate change, possible abuses of biological and artificial intelligence advancements, and nuclear dangers were the main causes, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS), which sets the clock every year.
Daniel Holz, chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS), described the recent action as “a warning to all world leaders.”
On Tuesday, the “doomsday clock,” which represents how close humanity is to a global catastrophe, ticked one second closer to midnight. The time has been set at 89 seconds to midnight by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, who made the clock during the Cold War. It has never been this close before.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the clock was last adjusted to 90 seconds before midnight. In 1947, the clock was first set to seven minutes before midnight.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said in a statement, “In setting the Clock one second closer to midnight, we send a stark signal: Because the world is already perilously close to the precipice, a move of even a single second should be taken as an indication of extreme danger and an unmistakable warning that every second of delay in reversing course increases the probability of global disaster,”
Biological risks, the climate crisis, nuclear weapons threats, and disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) were among the contributing factors
It said, “The United States, China, and Russia have the prime responsibility to pull the world back from the brink. The world depends on immediate action.”
“At 89 seconds to midnight, the doomsday clock stands closer to catastrophe than at any moment in its history, according to former president of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos and chair of The Elders, a group of former world leaders.”
“The clock speaks to the existential threats that confront us and the need for unity and bold leadership to turn back its hands,” he said at a news conference in Washington.
“This is a bleak picture. But it is not yet irreversible,” he added.
What is The Doomsday Clock?
The Doomsday Clock is a way to measure just how close unsafe technologies are to the annihilation of all civilization on Earth. It shows how many minutes away it is till “midnight” time which symbolises calamity.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists updates the clock every year to make people more aware and incite action.
The clock’s time was determined by the nuclear weapons that the Bulletin’s experts considered to be the greatest threat to humanity when the clock was first created in 1947.
The Bulletin began including climate change in the consideration of its clock in 2007.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the clock was set the furthest from midnight in 1991 at 17 minutes.
Santos warmed up to this promise of doing diplomatic relations by Trump with China and Russia. A promise to both sides to negotiate that will end the conflict in Ukraine may calm fear over nuclear weapons use.
At the same time, Santos, however, claimed that the United States’ exit from the World Health Organisation as well as the Paris Climate Accord, has raised a global danger.
Extreme weather and natural disasters have tormented the earth for yet another year. Santos warned that other countries might scale down their climate actions like the US is doing. Santos also mentioned the aftermath of COVID-19.
The US, China, and Russia are to blame for the biggest responsibility for saving the earth from the impending catastrophe since they have the collective capacity to wipe it off according to BAS.