“Leaders and citizens of the world. This is your COVID wake-up call: it is 100 seconds to midnight.”
This is the warning that scientists gave on Wednesday morning, when they announced that the 2021 Doomsday clock – a visual representation of the perceived threats facing the planet – is keeping a record of 100 seconds to midnight .
In 2020, the hands of the clock changed from two minutes to midnight to 100 seconds – the closest that has ever been to symbolic destruction. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on Wednesday that it will remain in the same location in the annual update, calling the COVID-19 pandemic “alert”.
“The pandemic has revealed how unprepared and reluctant countries and the international system are to deal with global emergencies in an appropriate manner,” said the organization. “In this time of genuine crisis, governments have often abdicated responsibility, ignored scientific advice, failed to cooperate or communicate effectively and, consequently, failed to protect the health and well-being of their citizens.”
The organization said that disrespect for science and the spread of conspiracy theories, often by political figures and party leaders, will only continue to undermine the ability to protect people from future threats.
Although lethal, the coronavirus pandemic is not really an existential threat to humanity. Instead, the group is more concerned with accelerating nuclear weapons programs, worsening climate change and a possible future, even more devastating pandemics.
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists / Thomas Gaulkin
“We continue to believe that human beings can manage the dangers posed by modern technology, even in times of crisis,” said the organization. “But if humanity wants to avoid an existential catastrophe – one that would overshadow anything it has ever seen – national leaders must do a much better job of combating disinformation, paying attention to science and cooperating to lessen global risks.”
The nonprofit Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in the 1940s by Albert Einstein and scientists at the University of Chicago after the development of atomic weapons. Over the past decade, his Doomsday Clock has slowly moved closer to midnight, symbolizing the growing risk of an apocalypse with an end to civilization.
The group says it sees some reasons for optimism in the coming year, including President Joe Biden’s plans to aggressively combat climate change. But it called on world leaders to do more to reduce carbon emissions and permanently eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons.