New Year's Doomsday Clock: 90 minutes until midnight

The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic indicator of the arrival of an anticipated global catastrophe (Reuters)

Yesterday, Tuesday, January 23, the Journal of Atomic Scientists announced a new update to the hands of the virtual Doomsday Clock, which predicts a catastrophe leading to the end of humanity and its extinction, only when the two hands match at midnight according to several factors.

The announcement came indicating that there are only 90 seconds left until midnight, which is the closest the hands have reached since the creation of the virtual clock after World War II.

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The Journal of Atomic Scientists pointed out that the continuing threats of nuclear escalation in Ukraine still loom on the horizon, as well as the Israeli aggression against Gaza and the possibility of expanding the circle of conflict, and the absence of necessary measures regarding the climate crisis and global warming that threaten millions of lives.

Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the magazine, says that approaching midnight this way is risky and cannot be overlooked.

The establishment of the Doomsday Clock goes back to 1947 by scientists who previously worked on the Manhattan Project to manufacture the first nuclear bomb (Reuters)

The magazine expressed, in a live broadcast on the YouTube platform, its concern about the direct measures taken by some countries to expand or modernize their nuclear arsenals, stressing the existence of continuing threats of nuclear war.

In addition, the Committee considers that the international community has not been able to take sufficient global action on climate change as a contributing factor, along with the misuse of emerging biological technologies and artificial intelligence tools, which also pose a number of potential threats.

The Doomsday Clock dates back to 1947 by scientists who previously worked on the Manhattan Project to manufacture the first nuclear bomb. The clock represents a symbolic indicator of the arrival of an anticipated global catastrophe, and the clock hands oscillate constantly instead of moving in one direction.

The clock is set each year by the journal's Science and Security Council, which includes 10 Nobel laureates.

Source: Al Jazeera + The Guardian