What Is The Doomsday Clock?

In its symbolic look at the likelihood of armageddon, the lovely members of the bulletin of the atomic scientists announced today that they are keeping the worlds doomsday clock at two minutes to “midnight” (that being the end of the human race) whether that be by global warming, war or disease. They take into account factors such as nuclear firepower per country, tensions between countries, global warming and diseases.

The clock has been set at 11:57PM since January 2015, when it was moved down from five minutes to destruction. It’s the closest the clock has been to midnight since the Cold War in the 1980s.

Obviously, as there is no time-scale to this doomsday clock it has always come under criticism, however it is more of a measure of the likelihood of the end of human race as opposed to an accurate prediction when.

Rachel Bronson, executive director and publisher, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said: ‘The probability of global catastrophe is very high, and the actions needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be taken very soon.’

Ahead of the announcement, many feared that with the growing threat of climate change and increasing instability in the Middle East, combined with North Korea’s claim to have tested a hydrogen bomb, the minute hand may move forward again.

The closest the clock has ever come to midnight was 11.58, which occurred in 1953 when both the US and the Soviet Union tested hydrogen bombs.