The Doomsday clock, symbolising how near humanity is towards destruction, has been moved one second forward to 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS), which sets the clock annually, attributed nuclear threats, potential misuse of advances in biology and artificial intelligence, as well as climate change as key factors for the shift, reported BBC.
‘Stark Warning’
Daniel Holz, chair of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, alarmed the move as a “warning to all world leaders.”
The clock was originally placed at seven minutes to midnight in 1947 and was left unchanged at 90 seconds last year.
“In setting the clock one second closer to midnight, we send a stark signal,” said the BAS in a statement on Tuesday.
“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.”
Wars, Climate Change Taking Us Near To Doomsday?
The BAS warned that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, now nearing a three-year mark, “could become nuclear at any moment because of a rash decision or through accident or miscalculation”.
It also warned against the war in the Middle East that ” threatens to spiral out of control into a wider war without warning.”
The scientists’ panel also remarked that the long-term prognosis for the world’s attempts to deal with climate change remains poor, as most governments fail to enact the financing and policy initiatives necessary to halt global warming.”
“Emerging and re-emerging” diseases continue to threaten the economy and security of the world, it said.
‘Misinformation, Conspiracy Theories Multiplying Danger’
The organisation said the spread of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories “greatly exacerbate” all these dangers “that degrade the communication ecosystem and increasingly blur the line between truth and falsehood”.
The panel of scientists said the US, Russia, and China “have the collective power to destroy civilisation” and said the three nations “have the prime responsibility to pull the world back from the brink”.
