What does it mean when the doomsday clock strikes midnight?
From nuclear weapons to climate change, the Doomsday Clock symbolizes how close we are to the end of the world.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
We are still closer than ever to a global catastrophe, according to the annual Doomsday Clock update released Tuesday morning.
The time on the symbolic clock is the same as last year, when the Doomsday Clock was first set to 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to midnight.
The Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which has operated the clock since 1947. The group was founded in 1945 by scientists at the University of Chicago who were involved in the development of the first nuclear weapons in the Manhattan Project.
Due to continued increased risk from threats such as wars, climate change and advances in AI, the clock remained the same as last year.
Scientists created the clock using the imagery of the apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to represent threats to humanity and the Earth.
Tuesday marks the clock's first update since the start of the Israel-Hamas war and the second since Russia's invasion of Ukraine reignited fears of a global nuclear war.
What time is the clock set to now?
The clock stands at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to midnight in its history. Midnight is the moment that symbolizes the end of the world.
Who sets the time on the Doomsday Clock?
The Doomsday Clock is set each year by the 22 members of the Bulletin's Science and Security Committee in consultation with the Sponsors' Council, which includes 11 Nobel Prize winners.
Board members are asked two questions every year:
- Is humanity safer or more at risk this year than last year?
- Compared to the 77 years since the clock was set, is humanity safer or at greater risk?
This year, the committee addressed “several global threats, including disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, nuclear proliferation, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war, biothreats, the ongoing climate crisis and state-sponsored disinformation.” campaigns,” the Bulletin said in a statement.
Why is the Doomsday Clock so prominent?
Over the years, the clock has been used as a reference by the White House, the Kremlin and the leadership of many other nations. Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein served on the Bulletin's sponsorship board, and John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon contributed to the magazine.
Although not everyone agrees with the watch's settings, it is generally respected for the questions it asks and its science-based stance.