Doomsday Clock holds at 6:58:30 PM: Humanity still skirts brink of apocalyptic threats

The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic gauge initially designed to represent the threat nuclear development and its potential effects pose to humanity. However, today, other factors determine the time until midnight—symbolizing global devastation—including progressive climate change and breakthrough technologies that might induce irreversible damage. Since its inception, the hands of the Doomsday Clock have been adjusted 26 times, in response to international situations and ongoing global events.

On Tuesday, January 23, 2024, scientists reported that the hands of the Doomsday Clock remained at 6:58:30 PM EST, identical to the previous year, suggesting no stabilization in the international situation. "Leaders and citizens worldwide should interpret this as a grave warning, reacting as if today is the most perilous moment in modern history because it very well could be," advise experts from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

The Doomsday Clock's update was prompted by persistent nuclear threats, related to the expansion of "nuclear energy expenditure programs in the three largest nuclear powers - China, Russia, and the United States," along with other countries like Iran, North Korea, India, and Pakistan. The continuing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, might escalate into a larger conflagration in the Middle East, heightens this nuclear threat.

Aside from nuclear threats, the Doomsday Clock's creators indicated that accelerating climate change also played a part in placing the symbolic clock's hands 90 seconds from midnight. As a reference, the year 2023 was recorded as "the hottest year in history."

Another influencing factor in the Doomsday Clock's update was the 'evolution of biological threats' – which includes emerging biological technologies intersecting with artificial intelligence tools. The rapid progression of AI and potential misapplications also played a role in the Doomsday Clock's adjustments.

The Doomsday Clock's initial setting was seven minutes to midnight. Since then, its hands have been pushed forward, closer to zero, or pulled back. According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the furthest humanity was from self-destruction was in 1991. The end of the Cold War and the downsizing of nuclear weapons by the United States and Russia contributed to this. Since 2023, humanity has been "closest to annihilation." But, as the creators of the clock affirm, it's possible to move its hands back. The question is, how?

"Three of the world’s leading powers—the United States, China, and Russia—should commence serious dialogue about each of the global threats outlined here," the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists suggests.