The end is nigh. So says a science-oriented advocacy group that Tuesday pointed to its famous “Doomsday Clock” that shows 90 seconds till midnight and the Earth nearing apocalypse.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists made the annual announcement rating how close humanity is from tumbling over the precipice of doom and destruction, AP reports.
It cited nuclear threat in Russia’s war on Ukraine as well as the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and resulting war in Gaza, worsening climate predictions and the danger of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
“Last year, we expressed amplified concern by moving the clock to 90 seconds to midnight, the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been,” said Rachel Bronson, CEO of the Bulletin group. “The risks from last year continue with unabated veracity and continue to shape this year.”
Daniel Holz, left, with The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and science educator Bill Nye, discuss the 2024 “Doomsday Clock,” Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, at the National Press Club Broadcast Center, in Washington. This year, Jan. 2024, the clock will remain set to 90 seconds to midnight. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Starting in 1947, the advocacy group used a clock to symbolize the potential and even likelihood of people doing something to end humanity, the AP report sets out.
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.
Since 2007, members have considered the impact of new man-made risks such as AI and climate change, as well as the greatest threat – nuclear war.
In its 2024 announcement the Bulletin said that China, Russia and the U.S. were all spending huge sums to “expand or modernise their nuclear arsenals” – which added to the “ever-present danger of nuclear war through mistake or miscalculation.”
The war in Ukraine had also created an “ever-present risk of nuclear escalation” it added.
The group said the clock could be turned back if leaders and nations headed its earnest prognostication to work together, and specifically noted powerful countries that have the capacity to do so, including the previously mentioned major world powers.