It's the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas - I'm obviously talking about the time of year when we find out how close humanity is to self-annihilation!
Woo-hoo!
That's right - it's time for an update to the Doomsday Clock; basically, a metaphorical representation of how close we are to the end of the world, which is intended to encourage world leaders to find solutions to some of the most urgent, man-made existential threats.
Last year, the clock was set the closest to midnight that it's ever been. If it hits midnight, it essentially indicates it's too late to save the planet.
Who created the Doomsday Clock?
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The morbid metaphor was created in 1947, at a time when the greatest danger to humanity came from nuclear weapons and the threat of a nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
It was created after Bulletin newsletter co-editor, Hyman Goldsmith, asked artist Martyl Langsdorf to come up with a design for the cover of the June 1947 edition.
Langsdorf was married to a physicist who had worked on the Manhattan Project - the mission to develop the first atomic bomb - and used urgent discussions about the project as inspiration.
The artist came up with a sketch of a clock, intended to suggest that we didn’t have much time left to get atomic weapons under control.
In 2007, the iconic image was reimagined by graphic designer Michael Bierut. Now, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announces updates on the Doomsday Clock each year.
What has the Doomsday Clock been set to this year?
In a live news conference today (January 28), the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that the Doomsday Clock has been set to 89 seconds to midnight.
The announcement has been made at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington D.C., based on a decision made by the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board (SASB) in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes nine Nobel Laureates.
Factors taken into account for this year's update include nuclear weapons threats, climate crisis, artificial intelligence, bio-threats and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
In a press release, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said: "We now move the Doomsday Clock from 90 seconds to 89 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been to catastrophe.
"Our fervent hope is that leaders will recognize the world’s existential predicament and take bold action to reduce the threats posed by nuclear weapons, climate change, and the potential misuse of biological science and a variety of emerging technologies."
How does this year's time compare to previous updates?
In 2023, the Doomsday Clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight, edging closer to the end of the world than it had in previous years. The update marked a huge contrast from the 'safest' humanity has ever been, which came in 1991.
At that time, when the Cold War had come to an end, and the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty to provide for deep cuts to strategic nuclear weapons arsenals, the Bulletin set the clock hand at to 17 minutes to midnight.
Topics: Climate Change, Doomsday Clock, Politics, Science, Ukraine
Emily Brown