Clock Ticks Down as “Doomsday” Approaches

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announcing 

their recent change to the Doomsday Clock

Earlier this week, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced their decision to move their Doomsday Clock timer from 3 minutes to midnight to 2.5 minutes; the lowest the clock has been since 1953, where it was set 11:58. This change was prompted by a variety of reasons, the Bulletin claims in their press release, including the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, increasing tensions in countries like Syria, Russia, India, and Pakistan, the inaction of world leaders addressing climate change and nuclear concerns, and emerging technologies.

The Doomsday Clock, first featured in 1947 and created by Martyl Langsdorf, is a symbolic representation expressing the concerns of the Bulletin regarding how close they believe we are to global catastrophe—with midnight indicating a global catastrophe, such as a nuclear detonation or irreversible climate damage. When adjusting the clock, the Bulletin considers several factors—primarily nuclear war—as well as climate change, cyber threats, and biosecurity. By closely analyzing the state of global affairs, statistics regarding nuclear stockpiles, and data collected from environmental research, the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin makes the choice of moving the clock forwards, signifying the world moving closer to global catastrophe, or backwards, signifying the efforts of world leaders to alleviate global issues.

The furthest that the clock has been from midnight—17 minutes—was in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Since then, the clock has slowly ticked down, reaching 3 minutes in 2015. Now, for the first time in the clock’s 70-year history, the Bulletin has adjusted it less than a minute, claiming that while the election of Donald Trump and his “intemperate” statements have created cause for concern, the implications are still uncertain, and only time will tell whether the clock will be adjusted another 30 seconds. They further addressed other issues, including tensions in Eastern Europe between Russia and Syria, North Korea’s recent nuclear weapon tests, and the threats of new technologies like autonomous machines.

On their website, the Bulletin urges ordinary people to become informed of the issues surrounding the Doomsday Clock, as well as to get in touch with government representatives to encourage policies that diverge from climate change disaster and money spent on nuclear. They also advise public leaders to take immediate action, citing the necessities of strong leaders who make it their priority to address these issues.

In popular culture, the Doomsday Clock has been the focal point of many stories to address the issues of global disaster. The Watchmen comic, set in an alternate universe during the Cold War, is one of the most prominent of media that utilizes the imagery of the Doomsday Clock, showing the Clock counting down as the comic continues. The Clock is also referenced in TV shows such as Heroes and Supernatural, and in music from artists like Linkin Park, The Clash, and Bright Eyes.