Humanity is dangerously close to catastrophe, according to a group of scientists who said the coronavirus pandemic, along with the growing threats from climate change and nuclear weapons, is pushing civilization closer to a man-made apocalypse.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced on Wednesday that its symbolic doomsday clock remains at 100 seconds to midnight, the same time it was set for at least one year. Although the hands of the clock have not changed since 2020, the configuration is still as close as the clock has been to symbolic destruction in more than 70 years of its existence.
The clock does not work as a prediction of calamity, but it represents humanity’s perceived proximity to a man-made catastrophe. The Bulletin has been keeping the Doomsday Clock since 1947, and it has become a total visual metaphor since its launch during the Cold War, when the hands of the clock marked seven minutes to midnight.
Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, said the coronavirus pandemic served as a “historic wake-up call” and revealed how many governments and international organizations are unprepared to deal with complex and dangerous challenges.
“We at Bulletin believe that because humans created these threats, we can control them,” Bronson said at a news conference on Wednesday. “But doing this is not easy and it never was. It requires serious work and global involvement at all levels of society.”
Last year’s update, which came before the coronavirus spread to every continent in the world, set the Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds to midnight. At the time, it was as close as the clock was to symbolic destruction. Now, Bulletin scientists say they have adjusted the clock to reflect the consequences of a still violent pandemic and imminent threats from climate change, nuclear weapons and disruptive technologies.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, founded in 1945, is a non-profit organization that examines global security issues related to science and technology. Each year, the group consults a board of sponsors to analyze the world’s most urgent threats to determine where the hands of the Doomsday Clock should be adjusted.
