The Doomsday Clock will be revisited on Tuesday after moving 10 seconds closer to midnight in 2023 – the closest it has ever come to a global catastrophe.
But what does that really mean?
A metaphor for the dangers facing humanity, the clock is updated based on perceptions of how humans are on the verge of destroying the world – midnight symbolizing this point.
The countdown is agreed by the experts at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Last year, the the clock has moved forward because of the “increasing dangers of war in Ukraine“. This was the first time the time had changed since 2020.
Experts say rising nuclear threats, political tensions, climate change and disease make 2023 a “time of unprecedented danger.”
What is the Doomsday Clock and how is it set?
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists – the creators of the clock – first launched this initiative in the 1940s in response to the threat of nuclear war.
After the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, members of the Bulletin felt the need to help the public understand the magnitude of the nuclear threat to existence of humanity.
Even today, the Bulletin’s scientific and security committee, made up of nuclear and climate experts, sets the time. The board has been doing this since 1973, when he succeeded Eugene Rabinowitch, editor of the Bulletin and disarmament activist.
The clock moves closer or further away from midnight depending on how the board’s experts, as well as academic colleagues and Bulletin sponsors – including 13 Nobel laureates – read the threats facing the world is confronted.
Learn more:
Doomsday Clock creeps closer to midnight as Ukraine war rages
The Doomsday Clock strikes 100 seconds before midnight
Where should you go to survive an apocalypse
What did the scientists say?
The 2023 clock update was the most disastrous since its conception.
Announcing the update, the council said: “Russia’s thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalating conflict by accident, intention or miscalculation poses a terrible risk.
“The possibility of the conflict spiraling out of anyone’s control remains high.”
The scientists said the war has “increased the risk of the use of nuclear weapons, raised the specter of the use of biological and chemical weapons, crippled the global response to climate change, and hampered international efforts to respond to other global concerns.
The Bulletin’s warning continues: “The invasion and annexation of Ukrainian territory also violated international norms in a way that may encourage others to take actions that challenge previous agreements and threaten stability.”
“In this time of unprecedented global danger, concerted action is needed, and every second counts.”
The History of the Doomsday Clock
When it debuted in 1947, the clock was set at seven minutes to midnight.
Artist Martyl Langsdorf came up with the idea for the clock and set the time to symbolize the dangers of nuclear confrontation, on the cover of the Bulletin.
Since then, time has slowed down as political, nuclear and climate change has continued over the years, with experts revising the time up and down – usually closer to midnight and its metaphor of total disaster .
However, there have been more reassuring years. In 1995, the clock read 14 minutes to midnight, the most reliable reading in its history.
And there have been “positive advances” in certain years, such as the Paris climate agreement.
However, since 1998, the clock hands have been less than 10 minutes before midnight.
In 2020, scientists moved the clock hands forward 100 seconds to midnight after the outbreak of COVID-19.
On Tuesday, the new clock time will be announced from Washington DC at 3pm UK time.
The Doomsday Clock will be revisited on Tuesday after moving 10 seconds closer to midnight in 2023 – the closest it has ever come to a global catastrophe.
But what does that really mean?
A metaphor for the dangers facing humanity, the clock is updated based on perceptions of how humans are on the verge of destroying the world – midnight symbolizing this point.
The countdown is agreed by the experts at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Last year, the the clock has moved forward because of the “increasing dangers of war in Ukraine“. This was the first time the time had changed since 2020.
Experts say rising nuclear threats, political tensions, climate change and disease make 2023 a “time of unprecedented danger.”
What is the Doomsday Clock and how is it set?
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists – the creators of the clock – first launched this initiative in the 1940s in response to the threat of nuclear war.
After the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, members of the Bulletin felt the need to help the public understand the magnitude of the nuclear threat to existence of humanity.
Even today, the Bulletin’s scientific and security committee, made up of nuclear and climate experts, sets the time. The board has been doing this since 1973, when he succeeded Eugene Rabinowitch, editor of the Bulletin and disarmament activist.
The clock moves closer or further away from midnight depending on how the board’s experts, as well as academic colleagues and Bulletin sponsors – including 13 Nobel laureates – read the threats facing the world is confronted.
Learn more:
Doomsday Clock creeps closer to midnight as Ukraine war rages
The Doomsday Clock strikes 100 seconds before midnight
Where should you go to survive an apocalypse
What did the scientists say?
The 2023 clock update was the most disastrous since its conception.
Announcing the update, the council said: “Russia’s thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalating conflict by accident, intention or miscalculation poses a terrible risk.
“The possibility of the conflict spiraling out of anyone’s control remains high.”
The scientists said the war has “increased the risk of the use of nuclear weapons, raised the specter of the use of biological and chemical weapons, crippled the global response to climate change, and hampered international efforts to respond to other global concerns.
The Bulletin’s warning continues: “The invasion and annexation of Ukrainian territory also violated international norms in a way that may encourage others to take actions that challenge previous agreements and threaten stability.”
“In this time of unprecedented global danger, concerted action is needed, and every second counts.”
The History of the Doomsday Clock
When it debuted in 1947, the clock was set at seven minutes to midnight.
Artist Martyl Langsdorf came up with the idea for the clock and set the time to symbolize the dangers of nuclear confrontation, on the cover of the Bulletin.
Since then, time has slowed down as political, nuclear and climate change has continued over the years, with experts revising the time up and down – usually closer to midnight and its metaphor of total disaster .
However, there have been more reassuring years. In 1995, the clock read 14 minutes to midnight, the most reliable reading in its history.
And there have been “positive advances” in certain years, such as the Paris climate agreement.
However, since 1998, the clock hands have been less than 10 minutes before midnight.
In 2020, scientists moved the clock hands forward 100 seconds to midnight after the outbreak of COVID-19.
On Tuesday, the new clock time will be announced from Washington DC at 3pm UK time.