The Apocalypse Clock, a symbolic instrument for measuring the level of danger to humanity, recently inched forward by half a minute, drawing closer to the time of destruction.
According to the BBC, the Doomsday clock is a symbolic tool built by the American Group of Nuclear Scientists, including 15 Nobel laureates, to reflect the level of warning about the time of the outbreak of nuclear war or the possibility of humanity. to be destroyed.
The doomsday clock shows the destruction time to 2 minutes.
The greater the global dangers, the closer this clock runs to midnight. Most recently, the scientists managing the Doomsday Clock have just adjusted the clock hands forward 30 seconds. This means that there are only 2 minutes left until midnight.
“North Korea’s nuclear weapons program made significant progress in 2017, increasing the risk to North Korea itself, the United States and other countries in the region,” the scientists said. “The rhetoric and provocative actions of both sides have increased the possibility of nuclear war.”
In early 2017, the Doomsday Clock was also adjusted by almost half a minute with the midnight mark. The statements of US President Donald Trump are considered to be a big factor in causing scientists to adjust the clock hands.
This year, scientists also repeatedly pointed to the dangers of Trump’s policies, including his decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and the failure of the administration’s nuclear deal with Iran.
The farthest point of the doomsday clock was 17 minutes in 1991.
The last time the clock hit the midnight mark like this year was in 1953, when the US and the Soviet Union started a nuclear race. That was when the US and the Soviet Union tested a hydrogen bomb.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the Apocalypse clock still showed 7 minutes to midnight. “The Cuban Missile Crisis actually lasted only a few weeks. World leaders quickly resolved the crisis, set up a hotline, and by 1963 signed a treaty to stop nuclear testing,” the scientists said.
In fact, the Apocalypse clock can be completely reversed, once the tense situation subsides. In 1963, this watch went back to the 12 minute mark.