DOOMSDAY CLOCK: SCIENTISTS WARN OF GLOBAL DISASTER

The Doomsday Clock, which serves as a metaphor for global annihilation, has moved even closer to midnight.

According to the Doomsday Clock, midnight marks the theoretical end of the world. When the clock was first created in 1947, it was set at seven minutes to midnight.

Scientists announced on Tuesday that the clock has moved to 90 seconds to midnight, citing increased nuclear risks from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This is the closest the clock has ever been to midnight.

Last year, the clock was set at 100 seconds for the third year in a row.

Rachel Bronson, PhD, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said: “We are living in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality. 90 seconds to midnight is the closest the Clock has ever been set to midnight, and it’s a decision our experts do not take lightly.

The US government, its Nato allies and Ukraine have a multitude of channels for dialogue; we urge leaders to explore all of them to their fullest ability to turn back the Clock.”

How does the Doomsday Clock work?

The timing on the Doomsday Clock is set by the Bulletin — a Chicago-based non-profit organisation.

A board of scientists and other experts in nuclear technology and climate science – including 13 Nobel laureates – determine where to place the hands of the clock each year based on information regarding catastrophic risks to the planet.

The clock was created in 1947 by a group of atomic scientists. In that year, the greatest danger to humanity came from nuclear weapons, and particularly concerns that the US and Soviet Union were heading towards a nuclear arms race. 

In 1947, the original clock was set at seven minutes to midnight by the artist who came up with the design, Martyl Langsdorf, because she said “it looked good to my eye.”

The Bulletin explains on its website that the Doomsday Clock is not a forecasting tool; rather, the board of experts studies events that have already occurred and examines existing trends – looking, for example, at the number and kinds of nuclear weapons in the world, the parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, or the rate of sea level rise. 

How has the clock changed over time?

The original clock was set at seven minutes to midnight. The first time the clock moved closer to “doomsday” was 1949, after the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb. It went from seven minutes to three minutes to midnight.

The furthest the clock has ever been from midnight was 17 minutes in 1991: this occurred as the Cold War ended and the US and Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

Before 2020, the closest the clock had ever been to midnight was two minutes: this was set in 1953, after the US and Soviet Union each tested their first thermonuclear weapons within six months of each other, and in 2018, due to increasing nuclear risk and concerns over climate change. 

In 2020, the clock was set at 100 seconds to midnight — the closest the world has ever been to “doomsday.”

Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Tuesday's announcement was “sounding an alarm for the whole of humanity.”

She added: “We are on the brink of a precipice. But our leaders are not acting at sufficient speed or scale to secure a peaceful and liveable planet. The science is clear, but the political will is lacking. This must change in 2023 if we are to avert catastrophe. We are facing multiple, existential crises. Leaders need a crisis mindset.”