‘Doomsday Clock’ moves closer to midnight amid threats of climate change, nuclear war, pandemics, AI
Earth is moving closer to destruction, a science-oriented advocacy group said Tuesday as it advanced its famous “Doomsday Clock” to 89 seconds till midnight, the closest it has ever been.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists made the annual announcement — which rates how close humanity is from ending — citing threats that include climate change, proliferation of nuclear weapons, instability in the Middle East, the threat of pandemics and incorporation of artificial intelligence in military operations.
The clock had stood at 90 seconds to midnight for the past two years and “when you are at this precipice, the one thing you don’t want to do is take a step forward,” said Daniel Holz, chair of the group’s science and security board.
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Starting in 1947, the advocacy group used a clock to symbolize the potential and even likelihood of people doing something to end humanity. After the end of the Cold War, it was as close as 17 minutes to midnight. In the past few years, to address rapid global changes, the group has changed from counting down the minutes until midnight to counting down the seconds.
NOW – Doomsday Clock set to 89 seconds to midnight. pic.twitter.com/KdBce4GKaD
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) January 28, 2025
Check out some of the factors that caused The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to move their symbolic clock closer to midnight.
Doomsday is coming because Americans rejected Biden’s Disinformation Czar.
The word scientist has lost all meaning over the past five years. pic.twitter.com/sLXIyHf50p
— MAZE (@mazemoore) January 28, 2025