Time is Ticking Away: What is the Doomsday Clock predicting the end of the world?

It is a theoretical warning that tells how close is the end of the world. It is the ‘Doomsday Clock’ that signifies human-made doom and gloom. And today (24 January) the hands of this Doomsday Clock are set to be moved by top atomic scientists for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. The update, which will be revealed at 1500 GMT (8.30 pm IST) today, will take into account the Russia-Ukraine war, mushrooming of nuclear weapons, climate crisis, bio-threats, “state-sponsored disinformation campaigns" and disruptive technologies, AFP reported. But, what is this Doomsday Clock and what is its existence? When has the time on the clock been changed before? We explain. Doomsday Clock and its origin Created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a Chicago-based nonprofit organisation, the Doomsday Clock is a “metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation”. It is a “design that warns the public about how close we are to destroying our world with dangerous technologies of our own making. It is a metaphor, a reminder of the perils we must address if we are to survive on the planet,” the Bulletin says on its website. The Bulletin was founded by Albert Einstein, J Robert Oppenheimer, Eugene Rabinowitch and other scientists from the University of Chicago in 1945 who were involved in the Manhattan Project – the US undertaking that produced the world’s first nuclear weapon. The hands of the Doomsday Clock are changed annually by a panel of scientists, including 13 Nobel laureates, after reviewing the old and new threats such as nuclear wars, political tensions and climate change plaguing the world that year.

In 1947, the time was set at seven minutes from midnight.

This was based on the threat posed by nuclear weapons which the scientists believed was “the greatest danger to humanity”. [caption id=“attachment_12039122” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. AP (Representational Image)[/caption] The Doomsday Clock can be found in the lobby of the Bulletin offices at the University of Chicago. Adjustments till now Since its existence, the time on the Doomsday Clock has been revised 24 times, as per the Bulletin. The farthest the world has been from the theoretical armageddon was in 1991 when it was set to 17 minutes from the dreaded 12 o’clock position following the fall of the Soviet Union and the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Over the years, other existential threats to humanity like climate change, and disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, biological weapons and nanotechnology, have been considered when deciding how close or far is the ‘apocalypse’. In 1949, the clock’s hands were first moved by Rabinowitch from seven to three minutes to midnight when the USSR tested its first nuclear weapons. “In doing so, he activated the Clock, turning it from a static to a dynamic metaphor,” SJ Beard, a researcher at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, wrote for BBC.   The clock was adjusted to two minutes to midnight after the US and the Soviet Union tested their first thermonuclear weapons in 1953. In recent times, the Doomsday Clock was revised from five to three minutes to midnight in 2015 and the same was continued in 2016. In 2017, in the wake of the “words of a single person,” – then US president Donald Trump – who made “made a bad international security situation worse”, the Bulletin decided to update the clock to 2.5 minutes to midnight, Forbes reported. It was again reverted to two minutes to midnight in 2018 when the Bulletin noted that the major nuclear powers were on the “cusp of a new arms race”. [caption id=“attachment_12039132” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The time on the Doomsday Clock has been revised 24 times since 1947. AP File Photo[/caption] The clock remained at two minutes to midnight in 2019 after the collapse of the US’ nuclear deal with Iran and its withdrawal from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, noted Forbes. The clock was closest to “doomsday” in 2020 and since then it has remained at 100 seconds to midnight. The group cited the risks of nuclear threat and climate change along with the dissemination of misinformation and behaviour of world leaders for shifting the clock from two minutes to 100 seconds. Effect of Russia-Ukraine war After Russia announced its “special military operation” in Ukraine, the Bulletin kept the clock set at 100 seconds to midnight, saying Vladimir Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons is “what 100 seconds to midnight looks like”, ABC News reported. Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, told ABC News in a statement, “Every year, the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board looks at the world’s vulnerability to catastrophe from manmade threats”. “This year, the war in Ukraine and the ripple effects it has caused around the world and on many issues is a major factor in that consideration.” Pop culture references The Doomsday Clock has made it to pop culture over the years. Iron Maiden’s 2 Minutes To Midnight, The Who’s Why Did I Fall For That, Pink Floyd’s Two Suns in the Sunset, Linkin Park’s album Minutes to Midnight and Hozier’s Wasteland, Baby! are some songs that are part of the ‘Doomsday Clock Playlist. Besides songs, Doomsday Clock has also found mentions in books, movies and TV shows. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.