Doomsday Clock moved 10 seconds closer to midnight due to war in Ukraine

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists reported the information.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Safety Board with the support of a board of sponsors, including 10 Nobel Prize winners, set the time on the Doomsday Clock.

Since 2020, the Clock has been set at 100 seconds to midnight. Now it has been moved forward by 10 seconds.

The change was caused by Russia's war in Ukraine, which has raised the issue of state interaction, "eroding norms of international conduct that underpin successful responses to a variety of global risks."

"And worst of all, Russia’s thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalation of the conflict—by accident, intention, or miscalculation—is a terrible risk. The possibility that the conflict could spin out of anyone’s control remains high," the organization said.

Climate threats, technological development and biological threats, as well as the coronavirus, have also led to the change in time.

"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," said Rachel Bronson, PhD, president and CEO, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

For reference. The Doomsday Clock project has been run by the American journal Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1947. The Clock shows the symbolic time that separates humanity from the day of a global man-made catastrophe (time to midnight). The decision to move hands is made by the journal's board of directors and experts, including 18 Nobel Prize winners. The clock is located in Chicago.

Since 1947, the Doomsday Clock has been reset 25 times, the last time being on January 23, 2020, when the hands were set to 23:58:20.