We are 90 seconds away from the end of the world

According to the symbolic doomsday clock, humanity is still on the brink of global apocalypse: the clock ticks 90 seconds to midnight (equal to 1.5 minutes), the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists reports. According to researchers, the risk of humanity being wiped out by nuclear war or global warming is very high. In 2023 the value was also set to 90 seconds.

The clock metaphorically indicates “five minutes to twelve” when a very adverse event is imminent. The clock position is published each year by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased the risk of the use of nuclear weapons, raised fears of the use of biological and chemical weapons, crippled the world's response to climate change, and hindered international cooperation,” scientists justify the injection's advance. The efforts will, among other things, address global problems.” Additionally, nuclear-weapon states are pursuing modernization programs that could lead to a new nuclear arms race.

Earth is also experiencing its hottest year since records began. There are massive floods, fires and other climate-related disasters, and the lack of sustainable action against climate change threatens billions of lives and livelihoods.

Alex Glaser from the famous Princeton University in the United States also mentioned the presidential election in the United States this year. Every US election raises the question of the enormous power of the US president, who has the sole authority to use nuclear weapons within minutes. “In our view, this is the most dangerous regulation ever.”

Regarding the threat of nuclear weapons, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in August that the world had entered “a period of nuclear risk not seen since the height of the Cold War,” the Bulletin writes.

Russia's threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalation of conflict — by accident, design or miscalculation — poses a “terrible risk.” The fact that the Russian war of aggression also reached the nuclear danger zones of Zaporizhia and Chernobyl violated international norms and risked a large-scale release of radioactive material.