This year, too, the “doomsday clock” is 90 seconds before midnight

Last year, researchers set the hands of the so-called “doomsday clock” to 90 seconds before midnight for the first time – “closer to a global catastrophe than ever before,” said the president of the “Bulletin of Atomic Scientists”, Rachel Bronson.

Warning of nuclear escalation

The risks continue to exist with undiminished vehemence. “The war in Ukraine poses the constant threat of nuclear escalation, and the October 7 attack and the war in Gaza are yet another example of the horrors of modern war, even without nuclear escalation,” lamented Bronson. “The countries that have nuclear weapons are carrying out modernization programs that could lead to a new nuclear arms race.”

The Earth is also experiencing its hottest year since records began. There are massive floods, fires and other climate-related disasters, and the lack of consistent steps to combat climate change threatens billions of lives and livelihoods.

Alex Glaser from the renowned US University of Princeton also referred to the presidential election in the United States this year. Every US election raises the question of the immense power of the American president, who has the sole authority to use nuclear weapons within minutes. “From our point of view, this has always been a very dangerous regulation.”

Danger is greater than ever

A new president will be elected in the USA on November 5th. Democratic incumbent Joe Biden wants to run for a second term. There are only two Republican candidates left in the primaries for the presidential nomination – one of them is former US President Donald Trump.

The symbolic status of the “Doomsday Clock” is announced once a year. In 2020, the clock was symbolically set forward to 100 seconds before midnight for the first time, and then to 90 seconds before midnight in 2023. According to researchers, the risk of humanity being wiped out by a nuclear war or self-inflicted global warming is greater than at any time since the clock was invented in 1947.

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