The metaphorical timestamp of no return.
Could it be the end of time as we know it? While it’s certainly felt that way over the last few years with the pandemic and social unrest, a scientific body is predicting that the world could now be closer than ever to its own undoing.
On Tuesday, the science and security board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists reset the Doomsday clock to 90 seconds until midnight, which marks the closest to the hour it has ever been since it was created 75 years ago.
As you might’ve already guessed from the name, this is certainly no ordinary clock: It gauges how close humanity is to destroying the world, whether by war or technology.
“We are living in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality,” Rachel Bronson, the nonprofit’s president and CEO said in the release. “It’s a decision our experts do not take lightly.”
Here’s a breakdown of why the world is teetering especially close to a potential armageddon and how we can stop it.
Is the Doomsday Clock real?
Every January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which is comprised of world leaders and Nobel laureates, sets the metaphorical clock to show just how much time is left until midnight, which marks the theoretical point of annihilation.
First launched in 1947, the timepiece was initially created to measure nuclear threats, particularly those between the U.S., and the Soviet Union. Then starting in 2007, the Bulletin decided to include climate change in its calculations. It also takes into account biosecurity, bioterrorism, and technological advancements like artificial intelligence.
But counter to what you might think, the annual ritual of setting the clock isn’t meant to scare anyone and it’s certainly not meant to be an accurate prediction of anything. Instead, it’s intended to “inform the public about threats to the survival and development of humanity,” according to the Bulletin.
“We at the Bulletin believe that because humans created these threats, we can reduce them,” Bronson said. “But doing so is not easy, nor has it ever been, and it requires serious work and global engagement at all levels of society.”
Why did the Doomsday Clock tick forward?
The Bulletin’s decision to move the clock up 10 seconds this year was “largely, though not exclusively” due to the war in Ukraine and its veiled threats of nuclear warfare. Other threats played a role, including those posed by the climate crisis, and infectious diseases like Covid-19.
This, of course, isn’t the first time the clock has ticked closer to calamity. The metaphorical timepiece previously caused a stir when it was set to 100 seconds to midnight in 2020 (thanks, Covid), and it stayed there in 2021 and 2022.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what would actually happen if the clock struck midnight. Though there’s no need to take it literally, Bronson says there would be some sort of nuclear exchange or catastrophic climate change that would wipe out humanity. “We never really want to get there and we won’t know it when we do,” she told CNN.
Is there any way to reverse the Doomsday Clock?
The good news is that moving the clock back is still possible. In fact, it has already been reversed eight times over the last few decades — the farthest being 17 minutes in 1991, when President George H.W. Bush’s administration signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the Soviet Union.
Some threats are also capable of being substantially mitigated, especially when it comes to global warming. Sivan Kartha, a member of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, says there has been a “tremendous expansion” in innovations around renewable energy and he adds that he’s hopeful about potential changes from future generations.
“The generation that’s growing up now, the generation that will be our leaders in the future, is fired up about climate change,” he told USA Today.
