The keepers of the symbolic Doomsday Clock have moved it closer to disaster than ever before, now placing it at 89 seconds to midnight.
A panel of experts in nuclear risk, climate change, and emerging technologies, organized by the non-profit Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, sets the clock.
In 2024, humanity inched even closer to catastrophe. Despite growing dangers, world leaders and societies have not taken the necessary steps to change course. As a result, the Doomsday Clock has been moved from 90 to 89 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been. The hope is that leaders will acknowledge these existential threats and take decisive action to reduce the risks posed by nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies.
The Doomsday Clock was first created in 1947 by scientists from the Manhattan Project, who sought to prevent the use of atomic weapons. It was originally set at 7 minutes to midnight.
The panel writes in a press release:
“In setting the Clock one second closer to midnight, we send a stark signal: Because the world is already perilously close to the precipice, a move of even a single second should be taken as an indication of extreme danger and an unmistakable warning that every second of delay in reversing course increases the probability of global disaster. Blindly continuing on the current path is a form of madness.”
source The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
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