Doomsday Clock: The world is closer to oblivion than ever before, scientists say as they change time
The world is closer to oblivion than ever before, according to the Doomsday Clock.
The clock – a reflection of how close to destruction humanity is, and set by experts and scientists – moved 10 seconds forward, to 90 seconds to midnight.
The threat of nuclear war and other problems has risen in the last year, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which manages the Doomsday Clock and decides its time.
It pointed specifically to the ongoing war in Ukraine, which it said it had warned about in January 2022, when it last updated the clock. Then, it stayed at 100 seconds to midnight, as it has since 2019 – but warned that increased violence between Ukraine and Russia could push the world closer to apocalypse.
Almost all of the Bulletin’s statement pointed to the threat of nuclear war, mostly because of violence in Ukraine but elsewhere too. It did however state that there was ongoing threats from climate change, biological threats and disruptive technologies.
When the clock moved to 100 seconds to midnight, in 2019, it was already the closest to midnight it had ever been before. It marked the first time the clock had been set in seconds, a reflection of the increasing danger.
