Key takeaways:
- The Doomsday Clock has been moved to 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to the hour.
- The clock was moved 10 seconds closer to midnight due to the specter of nuclear weapon use, particularly in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was founded to spark conversations about difficult scientific topics such as climate change and the Doomsday Clock is a reminder of the urgency of these topics and the need to take action.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, an advocacy group founded in 1947, announced Tuesday that the Doomsday Clock has been moved to 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to the hour.
The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock used to measure how close humanity is to doing itself in, and is not designed to definitively measure existential threats. This year, the clock was moved 10 seconds closer to midnight due to the specter of nuclear weapon use, particularly in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists annual announcement, former Mongolian president Elbegdorj Tsakhia urged people to “wake up now” and take action against the gathering of several existential threats, with Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s actions and words chief among them.
Former Ireland President Mary Robinson joined Tsakhia to emphasize the importance of taking action against these threats. Robinson said, “We must recognize the urgency of the situation and act now to protect our planet and its people.”
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was founded to spark conversations about difficult scientific topics such as climate change. The Doomsday Clock is a reminder of the urgency of these topics and the need to take action to protect our planet and its people.
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