display
Washington (AP) - Leading scientists have symbolically left the hands of the so-called “doomsday clock” at 100 seconds before midnight again this year.
"The pandemic has shown how unprepared and unwilling the countries of the world and the international system are when it comes to tackling global emergencies properly," said Rachel Bronson, president of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, on Wednesday at an online Press conference.
In 2018 and 2019 the clock showed 2 minutes to 12 noon.
In 2020, the scientists symbolically set the clock to 100 seconds before midnight for the first time.
The danger that mankind will extinguish itself through nuclear war or climate change is greater than it has been since the invention of the clock in 1947, it was said to justify.
That is why it must now be shown in seconds, and no longer in hours or minutes, how close the world is to a catastrophe.
In addition to the coronavirus pandemic, the scientists see the possibility of nuclear war, climate change and false digital information as particularly dangerous factors.
display
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210127-99-194847 / 3
Information about the doomsday clock