The Doomsday Clock team have officially spoken – and they've set the clock at 89 seconds to midnight.
Previously, the clock set at 90 seconds to midnight, the nearest humanity has ever been to its demise. However, a press conference held in Washington at 3pm British time saw us inch even closer to Armageddon. The time, decided after much deliberation by a team of experts including nine Nobel Laureates, is supposed to represent how close the world is to complete catastrophe – and the end of Earth.
It's a metaphor to address current world issues which may cause our downfall. Previously it has highlighted the war in Ukraine, conflict in Gaza and the ongoing issue of climate change. The result of this year's announcement focussed primarily on a "disturbing rhetoric" around nuclear weapons, as well as a "terrifying time" for climate change.
Adding to this, bird flu and new pathogens are a worry. Power struggles of artificial intelligence between the US, China and Russia were mentioned – as well as the private sector's involvement. Such as Elon Musks' SpaceX company.
Scientists are concerned with the blurring between reality and AI, where "reason and reality are replaced by rage and fantasy." The problems of today are "hard to solve," say experts.
The announcement was made by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (which includes multiple Nobel laureates), who have been adjusting the clock ever since it was first invented in 1947.
2024 was measured at 90 seconds to midnight, which remained stagnant over the past few years. This was due to Putin's attack on Ukraine, as well as the on-going conflict in the Middle East.
2020 saw it jump to 100seconds, a significant jump from the previous years. Covid was thought to have an impact.
The furthest from midnight the clock has ever been was In 1991, "with the end of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first treaty to provide for deep cuts to the two countries’ strategic nuclear weapons arsenals, prompting the Bulletin to set the clock hand to 17 minutes to midnight," revealed the Bulletin.
90seconds was the closest, which has now moved to 89. There was no "improvement," especially in "nuclear, biological, climate" issues.
However, some positives of 2024 saw a new passage for science, as new vaccines have been developed.
The Bulletin's CEO, Rachel Bronson, previously explained what the clock symbolises. "When the clock is at midnight, that means there's been some sort of nuclear exchange or catastrophic climate change that's wiped out humanity," she said.
"We never really want to get there and we won't know it when we do."
The Bulletin also provide advice on what ordinary people can do with the announcement. According to their website, civilians should "get smart about the problems. Nuclear weapons and climate change may seem to be outside our daily experience and beyond our control, but we all have a stake in avoiding untimely death."
Following this, you should inform friends, family and co-workers. Finally, they advise: "tell your government representatives that you don’t want even more of your tax money spent on nuclear weapons or on subsidizing carbon dioxide-producing fossil fuel technologies."
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