Doomsday Clock Remains At 100 Seconds To Midnight
For those who thought that the election of Joe Biden as president would instantly make the world a safer place, you may have to wait a little while. The people in charge of the Doomsday Clock have decided to leave it where it is, 100 seconds to midnight.
According to the New York Times the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists decided to leave the Doomsday Clock exactly the same as where they set it one year ago, but for an entirely different reason.
After remaining at two minutes to midnight for two years, the Doomsday Clock was bumped up to 100 seconds to midnight in 2020 based on the the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation and global climate change. This year's time to midnight is based on the worldwide threat of COVID-19 and society's seeming inability to get it under control.
The Doomsday Clock began in 1947 based on concerns about nuclear weapons and the worldwide destruction they could cause. Over the years it has moved from its initial setting of 7 minutes to midnight in 1947, to 19 minutes to midnight in 1991 when the United States and the Soviet Union signed the original Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. That was the farthest from midnight the clock has ever been.
The clock was set at 2 minutes to midnight in 2018 and has slowly crept closer and closer ever since.
Assuming we don't blow ourselves up by the end of the year, the Doomsday Clock will be updated again at the beginning of 2022. What happens between now and then is up to us.