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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moves Doomsday Clock from 100 to 90 seconds before midnight [1]

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Date: 2023-01-24

The Doomsday Clock, created 76 years ago by atomic scientists to warn against a human-made apocalypse, has moved to 90 seconds to midnight.

I was not yet 1-year-old when the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists initiated the clock in 1947 at 7 minutes to midnight. It’s moved up and down since then, but never as near to midnight as now. Its best showing came with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 when the Bulletin moved the clock back to 17 minutes before midnight.

Remarks from the Bulletin in 2018:

While the Doomsday Clock update is scary, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said they aren’t trying to make a prediction. “... we study events that have already occurred and existing trends. Our Science and Security Board tracks numbers and statistics—looking, for example, at the number and kinds of nuclear weapons in the world, the parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the degree of acidity in our oceans, and the rate of sea level rise,” Kennette Benedict, senior advisor to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, wrote. “The board also takes account of leaders’ and citizens’ efforts to reduce dangers, and efforts by institutions—whether of governments, markets, or civil society organizations—to follow through on negotiated agreements.”

Here’s an excerpt from today’s much longer press release from the Bulletin.

The Doomsday Clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight, due largely but not exclusively to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the increased risk of nuclear escalation. The new Clock time was also influenced by continuing threats posed by the climate crisis and the breakdown of global norms and institutions needed to mitigate risks associated with advancing technologies and biological threats such as COVID-19. Rachel Bronson, PhD, president and CEO, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said: “We are living in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality. 90 seconds to midnight is the closest the Clock has ever been set to midnight, and it’s a decision our experts do not take lightly. The US government, its NATO allies and Ukraine have a multitude of channels for dialogue; we urge leaders to explore all of them to their fullest ability to turn back the Clock.” The Doomsday Clock’s time is set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board with the support of the Bulletin’s Board of Sponsors, which includes 10 Nobel Laureates. Previously, the Doomsday Clock had been set at 100 seconds to midnight since 2020. [...]

And here’s an excerpt from the Bulletin’s statement:

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