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'Doomsday Clock' set for an update amid nuclear tensions 'Doomsday Clock' to stand still amid nuclear tensions
(about 4 hours later)
Scientists behind the so-called Doomsday Clock are expected to announce if humanity is any closer to ruin. The so-called Doomsday Clock will remain set at three-minutes-to-midnight amid global perils such as climate change and nuclear proliferation.
The scientists may announce a change of the minute hand on their clock that is a metaphor for how vulnerable the world is to catastrophe. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BPA), the group behind the clock, said the standing still is "not good news".
The clock accounts for the threat of nuclear weapons, climate change and new technologies. The minute hand on the Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for how vulnerable the world is to catastrophe.
The clock is currently set at three-minutes-to-midnight. "It remains the closest it has been over the past 20 years," said Rachel Bronson, BPA's executive director.
The group of scientists, known as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, moved the clock up last year from five-minutes-to-midnight, noting the threat of climate change, the modernisation of nuclear weapons as well as large nuclear arsenals. In addition to nuclear arms and climate change, the group also cited growing cyber threats and an uptick in terrorist attacks in their decision to keep clock unchanged.
They said the threats were "extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity". Lawrence Krauss, chairman of the BPA's Board of Sponsors said that the Iran nuclear agreement and the Paris climate accord were good news, but said it remained unclear if the Paris agreement would actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Since that update, tensions between the US and Russia have increased, and North Korea recently conducted a nuclear test. He also noted increased tensions between the US and Russia as a sore point.
However, world leaders reached a deal in Paris to limit global temperature rises, and a deal with Iran over its nuclear programme. Last year, the scientists moved the clock up from five-minutes-to-midnight, noting the threat of climate change, the modernisation of nuclear weapons as well as large nuclear arsenals.
The group could decide to leave the minute hand unchanged, as it has done in year's past. At the time, they said the threats were "extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity".
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded at the University of Chicago in 1945 by a group of scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons. Their metaphorical clock was created two years later.The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded at the University of Chicago in 1945 by a group of scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons. Their metaphorical clock was created two years later.
Today, the group includes physicists and environmental scientists from around the world, who decide whether to adjust the clock in consultation with the group's Board of Sponsors - which includes 17 Nobel laureates.Today, the group includes physicists and environmental scientists from around the world, who decide whether to adjust the clock in consultation with the group's Board of Sponsors - which includes 17 Nobel laureates.
The closest the clock has come to midnight was in 1953, when it was moved to two minutes from the apocalyptic midnight, following hydrogen bomb tests by the US and Russia.The closest the clock has come to midnight was in 1953, when it was moved to two minutes from the apocalyptic midnight, following hydrogen bomb tests by the US and Russia.