For The Second Year In A Row, Our Doomsday Clock Is At 3 Mins To Midnight

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*BOOOOOOOOM*

That’s apparently how the world will end because as it turns out, scientists think there is only 3 minutes left on our Doomsday Clock.

The Doomsday Clock was started in 1947 by the Bulletin Of The Atomic: it was scientists’ way of determining how much time humans had left on Earth. Yep, that’s right. Humans’ limited time on Earth isn’t a new notion. However this falls under the category of global catastrophe in relation to nuclear and atomic weaponry. The clock was notably introduced right after World War II when the fear of nuclear weapons was realised.

The clock considers the lifespan of Earth as a 24 hour day. Calculating Earth’s age, the Jurassic Period, and everything in between then and the rise of mankind falls into these 24 hours. There then came a realisation that the way that humans treat Earth, can change how many minutes to midnight we have left.

In a statement, the Bulletin Of The Atomic left a strong warning:

“Three minutes (to midnight) is too close. Far too close. We, the members of the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, want to be clear about our decision not to move the hands of the Doomsday Clock in 2016: That decision is not good news, but an expression of dismay that world leaders continue to fail to focus their efforts and the world’s attention on reducing the extreme danger posed by nuclear weapons and climate change.

When we call these dangers existential, that is exactly what we mean: They threaten the very existence of civilisation and therefore should be the first order of business for leaders who care about their constituents and their countries.”

In 2015, scientists concluded that there were only 3 minutes to midnight left, and that’s what they’ve concluded for this year in 2016.

But the Doomsday Clock isn’t bound by time. During the Cold War in 1953 when the USA and the Soviets were testing their nuclear weapons, the minute had was a mere two minutes to midnight. Then in 1991 the world and humankind had reached such a great state of calm that the minute hand moved all the way back to seventeen minutes to midnight.

As it stands, the Doomsday Clock remains the closest it has ever been to midnight since 1984 (that year has so much significance, thanks Orwell). Back in 1984, the then publisher of the Bulletin, Kennette Benedict stated: “The probability of global catastrophe is very high. This is about the end of civilization as we know it.”

In 2010, the clock moved back from 5 minutes to midnight to 6 minutes to midnight. If the clock moved back then, hopefully next year, with the world responding to this news, we will gain another minute, or two, but time’s ticking!

Header image via Wikipedia/Animal New York