The hand is moving closer to midnight as the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists have convened and announced that the clock will stay at three minutes to midnight this year.
The symbolism of the Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for the end of the world and scientists have never been this close to midnight.
The clock has been set to 11:57 PM when it was moved from 11:55 PM. This has been the closest recorded time to midnight since the Cold War in the 80's.
Why is it so critically closer now than ever?
Scientists explain that their are a number of geopolitical reasons. For one, global warming and climate change plays a part in the mess. The year 2015 was the warmest year in recorded history.
Currently, the tension between Russia and the United States are close to Cold-War temperature and it is foreseen that the arms might be getting warmed up for a fight. Other countries are also increasing nuclear capacity - North Korea has been testing nuclear weapons.
Lawrence Krauss, chair of the Bulletin's board, explains that..
The decision not to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock is not good news.
Is the end that far ahead? Not exactly. Scientists from the Bulletin explains that we can still "turn back the hands of time" by reducing efforts on nuclear weapons programs, disarming of nuclear weapons on all countries and encourage a dialog. In addition, climate change should be the clear focus of all countries as mass migration, hunger and other major crisis are key effects, and at the same time risks, of global warming.
When the Doomsday Clock was created in 1945, it was created after the bombings in Japan. The journal was created to inform the public of the dangers of a coming nuclear war. The Bulletin scientists however made it clear that it is not meant to be a prediction tool for the future. It is meant to be a measure related to nuclear technology, climate change, cyber security and bio-technology.
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