‘Continuing on the current path is a form of madness’ - Doomsday Clock moves closer than ever to midnight
28 January 2025, 18:10 | Updated: 28 January 2025, 18:12
The iconic Doomsday Clock has been moved closer than ever to midnight, as scientists warn of unprecedented risks due to possible nuclear wars, the climate crisis, infectious diseases and AI.
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The Doomsday Clock, a metaphorical measure of how close humanity is to destroying the world and bringing about total apocalypse, has been moved closer than ever to midnight.
Scientists cited Russian nuclear threats in its war against Ukraine, the climate crisis, military applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and biological threats, including high-risk research involving deadly diseases.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the clock to 89 seconds to midnight - the closest it has ever been in its 78-year history.
For the last two years, the clock had been at 90 seconds to midnight, which was already closer than ever before.
“The purpose of the Doomsday Clock is to start a global conversation about the very real existential threats that keep the world’s top scientists awake at night,” said Daniel Holz, chair of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board.
“National leaders must commence discussions about these global risks before it’s too late.
“Reflecting on these life-and-death issues and starting a dialogue are the first steps to turning back the Clock and moving away from midnight.”
“Setting the Doomsday Clock at 89 seconds to midnight is a warning to all world leaders,” Holz added.
The Bulletin, founded by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer and scientists at the University of Chicago, created the clock in 1947 to measure how close the world is to global catastrophe.
While it was originally intended to gauge the risk of an apocalyptic nuclear war during the Cold War, it now measures a variety of man-made threats to the survival of humans and the planet.
However, the risk of a devastating nuclear war still looms over the world, as nuclear powers including Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, Israel and the US are all either involved in active conflicts or seem to be gearing up for one.
“The risk of nuclear use continues to grow due to capabilities building up and treaties breaking down,” said Dr Manpreet Sethi, SASB member.
She criticised China, Russia and the US for their increased comfort issuing nuclear threats and increasing their nuclear arsenal, as well as withdrawing from or ignoring nuclear treaties.
Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a doctrine in November lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons if Ukraine uses Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
“Such misplaced confidence could have us stumble into a nuclear war,” Dr Sethi added.
Scientists also highlighted the dangers of AI, both its usage in military targeting technologies and its impact on the spread of misinformation.
The Bulletin fears AI will be allowed to make “decisions that could kill on a vast scale, including those related to the use of nuclear weapons.”
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The proliferation of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories are considered ‘threat multipliers’, which ‘blur the line between truth and falsehood’, and AI makes this much easier than in the past.
“At the same time, nations are engaging in cross-border efforts to use disinformation and other forms of propaganda to subvert elections, while some technology, media, and political leaders aid the spread of lies and conspiracy theories,” the report says.
“This corruption of the information ecosystem undermines the public discourse and honest debate upon which democracy depends.”
Climate change has been a feature of the clock for many years, but is more relevant than ever now.
2024 was the warmest year on record globally and the first full year when the average temperature exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, as climate catastrophes multiply all over the world.
“Extreme weather and other climate events—floods, tropical cyclones, extreme heat, drought, and wildfires— devastated societies, rich and poor, as well as ecosystems around the world,” said Dr Robert Socolow.
“Yet the global greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change continued to rise.
“And investments to adapt to climate change and cut fossil fuel emissions were way below what is needed to avoid the worst impacts.”
Lastly, the scientists highlighted the danger of biological threats, including infectious diseases which are ‘a constant threat to mankind.
“Unfortunately the collective experience with COVID-19 has increased skepticism about the recommendations of public health officials, especially the use of medical countermeasures to mitigate disease spread,” said Dr Suzet McKinney.
“Concern is also growing over the proliferation of pathogen laboratories around the world, as well as nefariously using AI in biological research and development.”
