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Updated January 24th, 2020 at 13:56 IST

Doomsday Clock now at 100 seconds to Midnight, closest it's ever been in history

Maintained by the members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the timer on the doomsday clock was set to a 100 seconds before midnight on January 23

Reported by: Ruchit Rastogi
Doomsday Clock
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Maintained by the members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the timer on the doomsday clock was set to a 100 seconds before midnight on January 23. Midnight on the doomsday clock is significant because it represents the end of the word and every year the Bulletin of the Atomic scientists decides the timer on the clock. The two main factors affecting the doomsday clock this year are climate change and nuclear risk.

'Time is running out'

In a statement, the bulletin's President, Rachel Bronson said that the timer is reset to 100 seconds, shows how close earth is to complete destruction. Rachel further added that it is a time of emergency that has no space for any error or delay matters of grave concern and that was why the current time was being expressed in seconds and not minutes.

Responding to a question, Rachel said that factors such as drastic climate change and the threat of nuclear weapons determine the timer on the clock. She said that when the doomsday clock was created in the year 1947, the greatest threat at that time was nuclear war as the United States and the Soviet Union contested in a nuclear arms race.

While talking to an international media outlet, Rachel said that in the year 2007, the members of the bulletin were of the opinion that questions on what threatens humanity could not be answered without including the topic of climate change all over the world.

Read: Greta Thunberg Slams US Official, Says 'don't Need Degree To Know Climate Targets'

Read: UN Rights Panel Finds Climate Change Can Be Cause For Asylum

Originally set to a time of 7 minutes

According to reports, the decision on the timer of the clock is taken by a panel that includes 13 Nobel laureates. Rachel Bronson said that even though drastic climate change and nuclear tensions between countries remains a threat, the panel has stated that issues of cyber intrusions and fake news can also be considered as threats. The clock was originally set to a time of seven minutes to midnight and was reset to two minutes from 2018-2019. The furthest it has been away from midnight is 17 minutes after the end of the Cold War in the year 1991.

The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of global catastrophes created by man. It has been maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1947. The clock is considered as a metaphor for threats to human civilisation.

Read: Greta Thunberg Denies Saying 'the World Has 8 Years To Save The Climate', WEF Apologises

Read: UN Rights Panel Finds Climate Change Can Be Cause For Asylum

(With inputs from Agencies)

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Published January 24th, 2020 at 13:56 IST

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