The earth is getting closer to destruction, a defense group of science said on Tuesday, while putting forward its famous “Doomsday clock” at 89 seconds until midnight, the closest it has ever been.
The ballot of atomic scientists has made the annual announcement – which assesses how close humanity is to the end – citing threats which include climate change, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, instability in the Middle East, the Threat of pandemics and the incorporation of artificial intelligence in military operations.
The clock was 90 seconds at midnight in the past two years and “when you are at this precipice, the only thing you don’t want to take is to take a step forward,” said Daniel Holz, president of the group science and security advice.
The group said it was concerned about cooperation between countries like North Korea, Russia and China in the development of nuclear programs. Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke of the use of nuclear weapons in his war against Ukraine.
“A large part of rhetoric is very disturbing,” said Holz. “There is this growing feeling that … a nation could end up using nuclear weapons, and it’s terrifying.”
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From 1947, the advocacy group used a clock to symbolize the potential and even the probability that people do something to end humanity. After the end of the Cold War, he was also close to 17 minutes at midnight. In recent years, to approach rapid world changes, the group has spent the minutes until midnight to count the seconds.
The group said that the stopwatch could be back up if managers and nations were working together to combat existential risks.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press
