The Doomsday Clock is a system created by scientists to count down the days until the world ends. The closer the clock gets to midnight, the closer we are as a planet to Earth being uninhabitable. On Jan. 18, 2025, scientists Manpreet Sethi, Herb Lin, Robert Socolow and Suzet McKinny changed the Doomsday Clock from 90 to 89 seconds meaning “Doomsday” is getting closer.
The Doomsday clock was created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which is an old nonprofit organization that was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein. The iconic cover was drawn in 1947 by Martyl Langsdorf, an award-winning artist. She sketched a clock to symbolize the urgency of controlling atomic weapons to hopefully stop the decline into chaos.
The Doomsday clock was moved closer to midnight because of how close we got to a global catastrophe in 2023 – 24. It is analyzed yearly but isn’t changed every year. Considering that only 20 years ago we were at 420 seconds, and now we are at 89 seconds, is concerning.
“The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists made the annual announcement — which rates how close humanity is from ending — citing threats that include climate change, proliferation of nuclear weapons, instability in the Middle East, the threat of pandemics and incorporation of artificial intelligence in military operations,” AP News said.
Many of the scientists made statements about how the clock moving is a “plea” to global leaders urging the world to make a change, especially in the wake of large issues such as global warming and nuclear threats.
“2024 was the hottest year on record. 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. Yet the global greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change continued to rise,” Robert Socolow, PhD, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said in a press release.
Each scientist has a different angle on what The Doomsday Clock means to them and what warrants a the clock to change.
“Our fervent hope is that leaders will recognize the world’s existential predicament and take bold action to reduce the threats posed by nuclear weapons, climate change, and the potential misuse of biological science and a variety of emerging technologies,”Adam Dombovari said in a press release.
