The “Doomsday Clock,” the symbolic indicator of global risks, was set just 85 seconds before midnight on Tuesday, the closest point on record, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The decision reflects the increased threats posed by nuclear weapons, climate change and the spread of disinformation globally.
The “Doomsday Clock”, which has symbolized the imminence of a planetary cataclysm since 1947, came closer to midnight on Tuesday than ever. Representatives of the NGO Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set it at 85 seconds before midnight, four seconds later than a year ago.
The metaphorical indicator was created in 1947, originally to symbolize the nuclear danger during the Cold War. At the time, the clock showed seven minutes to midnight. Since then, the organization has expanded the evaluation criteria, also taking into account climate crises, pandemics and disinformation campaigns, according to Agerpres.
Experts at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists explained that Russia, China, the United States and other major powers have become increasingly aggressive, hostile and nationalistic, and hard-won international agreements are about to collapse.
This is accelerating a global “winner-takes-all” competition and undermining the international cooperation essential to reducing nuclear and climate risks.
Particular attention has been drawn to nuclear weapons: the New START treaty, which limits the nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia, is due to expire next week, and President Donald Trump has backed the development of an expensive missile defense system, dubbed the “Golden Dome”, that could place weapons in Earth’s orbit.
On climate change, experts warn that record levels of carbon dioxide emissions are accelerating global warming, and recent US policies have reversed previous progress.
Experts are also sounding the alarm about a global information crisis. Maria Ressa, Filipino journalist and laureate of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, said that we are living a “Information Armageddon”, where technology spreads lies faster than facts and amplifies societal divisions.
“We are living an informational Armageddon – the crisis that underlies all crises – fueled by a predatory technology that spreads lies faster than facts and profits from our divisions,” said Maria Ressa, an investigative journalist from the Philippines and winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein and scientists involved in the Manhattan Project, responsible for the development of the first atomic bomb.
Its symbolic indicator continues to be an annual warning about the degree of global risk and the time left to humanity before a possible catastrophe.
