Originally posted from the Physicians for Social Responsibility
Announced today, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock has been set to 89 seconds to midnight. Following the announcement, a panel discussed the decision and reasoning behind this setting.
For the past two years, the Doomsday Clock was set to 90 seconds — the closest it had ever been to midnight, otherwise understood as doomsday. This year, we are even closer due to insufficient progress to mitigate the risks of nuclear weapons, climate change, biological threats, and disruptive technologies. In a statement, the Bulletin said “in 2024, humanity edged ever closer to catastrophe. Trends that have deeply concerned the Science and Security Board continued, and despite unmistakable signs of danger, national leaders and their societies have failed to do what is needed to change course.”
The continuing threat of conflict in Ukraine becoming nuclear, alongside increasing nuclear weapons arsenals, collapsing arms control processes, and possible proliferation are listed among the various reasons to advance the clock. Lack of progress in mitigating environmental catastrophe, including increasing extreme weather events contribute to their setting as well. Also noted were the advancements of artificial intelligence in military applications currently used in Ukraine and the Middle East, among other alleged military technological advancements. Biological risks including the rise of avian influenza and the rampant spread of misinformation were also included in their statement.
The Bulletin further issued their setting of 89 seconds “because the world is already perilously close to the precipice, a move of even a single second should be taken as an indication of extreme danger and an unmistakable warning that every second of delay in reversing course increases the probability of global disaster.”
In the coming days, there will be significant media coverage of the clock’s setting, what we may expect for the coming year, and what we can do to move the clock further away from midnight. The last time the clock changed to 90 seconds in 2023, it garnered nearly 12,000 media stories in the days following the announcement.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists partnered with Rethink Media to connect grassroots organizers and activists to the work and media surrounding the Doomsday Clock announcement to invigorate local stories about the clock across the country. Rethink Media hosted three workshops for local leaders and nonprofits on localizing nuclear weapons issues, interviewing, and op-ed crafting. Their resources can be found here including a social media toolkit from the Bulletin to promote the work of nonprofits.
