What is the Doomsday Clock?

In today's world, the threat of global catastrophe looms large. From nuclear war to climate change, the challenges facing humanity are daunting. But how do we measure the risk of these threats? How do we know how close we are to the edge?

Enter the Doomsday Clock. Created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock is a symbolic representation of the level of risk of a global catastrophe. The clock is set by a group of experts who assess the current state of the world and make a judgment about how close we are to the end.

The Doomsday Clock has been a sobering reminder of the dangers facing humanity for over 70 years. It has also been a source of controversy, with some critics arguing that it is too alarmist or that it fails to take into account the progress that has been made in reducing the risk of global catastrophe.

What is the Doomsday Clock

• Established in 1947: The Doomsday Clock was first created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group of scientists and scholars concerned about the dangers of nuclear weapons.
• Symbol of Global Catastrophic Risk: The clock is a symbol of the risk of a global catastrophic event, such as nuclear war or climate change.
• Midnight Represents Total Annihilation: Midnight on the clock represents total annihilation, and the closer the clock is to midnight, the greater the risk of a global catastrophic event.
• Regularly Updated: The clock is regularly updated by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, who assess the current state of the world and make a judgment about how close we are to the end.
• Purpose: The purpose of the clock is to raise awareness of the risks of global catastrophic events and to urge action to reduce these risks.

Established in 1947: The Doomsday Clock was first created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group of scientists and scholars concerned about the dangers of nuclear weapons.

In the aftermath of World War II, a group of scientists and scholars came together to form the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. They were deeply concerned about the dangers of nuclear weapons, which had been used for the first time in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, just a few months earlier.

The Bulletin's mission was to raise awareness of the risks of nuclear war and to urge action to reduce these risks. One of their first initiatives was to create the Doomsday Clock, which would serve as a symbolic representation of the level of risk of a global catastrophic event.

The clock was first set at seven minutes to midnight, reflecting the grave danger posed by nuclear weapons. In the years that followed, the clock was adjusted closer to or further from midnight, depending on the current state of world affairs.

For example, the clock was moved to two minutes to midnight in 1953, at the height of the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in a nuclear arms race. The clock was also moved to two minutes to midnight in 2018, due to the rise of nuclear tensions between the United States and North Korea, and the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.