​Doomsday Clock Remains At Two Minutes To Midnight For Second Year Running

The Doomsday Clock will stay at two minutes to midnight for a second year running, after being moved 30 seconds closer last year.

The clock, which was founded in 1947 by an academic journal called the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, is a metaphor to represent how close mankind is to global catastrophe.

It was first set at seven minutes to midnight, serving as a warning to humanity about the danger posed by nuclear weapons.

In a statement, the Bulletin said humanity today faces two 'existential threats' through nuclear weapons and climate change.

"Humanity now faces two simultaneous existential threats, either of which would be cause for extreme concern and immediate attention," the statement said.

"These major threats - nuclear weapons and climate change - were exacerbated this past year by the increased use of information warfare to undermine democracy around the world, amplifying risk from these and other threats and putting the future of civilisation in extraordinary danger."

The statement also explained the world had 'failed dismally' last year to stop the worst effects of climate change, adding: "To halt the worst effects of climate change, the countries of the world must cut net worldwide carbon dioxide emissions to zero by well before the end of the century. By such a measure, the world community failed dismally last year."

Rachel Bronson, president and chief executive of the Bulletin, explained the world had entered into a 'period of the new abnormal', saying: "This is unsustainable and unsettling.

"We appear to be normalising a very dangerous world in terms of the risks of nuclear war and climate change.

"This new abnormal is simply too volatile and too dangerous to accept.

"Recognising this grim reality we would like to announce it is still two minutes to midnight, remaining the closest to midnight the clock has sever been set."

Former California Governor Jerry Brown, executive chair of the Bulletin, added: "Humanity faces two dire and simultaneous existential threats: nuclear weapons and climate change.

"The longer world leaders and citizens thoughtlessly inhabit this abnormal reality, the more likely it is that we will experience the unthinkable."

According to the Bulletin, the closest mankind has been to peace since the clock's inception was in 1991, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when the time stood at 17 minutes to midnight.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, News

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

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