What is the doomsday clock, which predicts the end of the world?

Ophélie Artaud 4:30 p.m., January 23, 2023

Soon the end of the world?

This Tuesday, the doomsday clock will be updated for the first time since 2020. But with the war in Ukraine and climate disasters, the time we have left before the end of humanity could decrease... If this doomsday clock and the time displayed on it are of course symbolic, what is it and what is it for?

A symbolic calculation of the end of the world

The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 by the NGO 

Concretely, it symbolically calculates the time that would remain before the end of the world, taking into account all the threats that weigh on humanity.

Midnight represents the apocalypse, and the closer the time displayed on the clock gets to it, the closer the risk of the end of the world.

The Doomsday Clock has been a powerful symbol for communicating existential threats for over 75 years.

Tune in January 24 at 10:00AM EST to hear what leading scientists have set the Doomsday Clock to for 2023.

Learn more: https://t.co/SlWeXEROGWpic.twitter.com/SdWZGwaRMO

— Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (@BulletinAtomic) January 10, 2023

The chosen time is not random.

Every two years, the members of the NGO meet.

Among them, "experts and scientists specializing in nuclear technologies and climate science [...]. They also consult colleagues who work in different disciplines and also solicit the Bulletin's sponsors committee, made up in particular of 13 winners of the prize Nobel", details the committee on its site. 

Depending on international tensions or the risk of climatic disasters at the time, they may decide to reset the clock.

Why could the clock be getting closer to midnight?

When the clock was created in 1947, the Cold War had just begun and with it the risk of a global nuclear war.

The clock then showed 11:53 p.m., or 7 minutes before the end of the world.

In addition to the nuclear risk, the clock now also takes into account the risks linked to climate change, new technologies or hydrocarbons.

If its time has been changed 24 times, since 2020, the hands of the clock display 23:58 and 20 seconds.

In other words, one minute and 40 seconds from the end of the world.

In 76 years of existence, the doomsday clock had never been so close to midnight.

In question: global warming, the fear of a nuclear conflict or even disinformation, used as a weapon of destabilization, to which was then added the mismanagement of the Covid pandemic. 

This Tuesday, the clock could therefore come a little closer to midnight.

At issue: the war in Ukraine, which has revived fears of a large-scale nuclear conflict.

But the risks linked to global warming could also be taken into account by the NGO.

Between the accelerating melting of glaciers, repeated heat waves and devastating fires, the year 2022 has once again highlighted the climate emergency.