Despite all-out war in Ukraine, renewed nuclear tensions between Russia, China and the U.S., climate change and a host of other alarming global concerns, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists this year kept its Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds before midnight.
A metaphorical device ticking away toward the end of the world, as assessed by members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences based on geopolitical, scientific, climate and economic factors, the Doomsday Clock already was set at 90 seconds to midnight. That is the closest it has ever been to the perceived end of the world.
The Bulletin emphasized in an announcement on Tuesday that the clock could be turned back, but “urgent action” by governments and individuals is needed to avoid catastrophe.
A variety of global threats cast menacing shadows over the 2024 clock deliberations, including: the Russia-Ukraine war and deterioration of nuclear arms reduction agreements; climate change and 2023’s official designation as the hottest year on record; the increased sophistication of genetic engineering technologies; the dramatic advance of generative artificial intelligence, “which could magnify disinformation and corrupt the global information environment making it harder to solve the larger existential challenges,” the Bulletin said.
Topping the list of concerns in 2023 was Russia’s war on Ukraine and the potential for Moscow to deploy nuclear weapons if it continues to flounder on the battlefield, a scenario the Bulletin said “remains a serious possibility.”
Since the war began in February 2022, Russian suspended its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and withdrawn its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. China also is rapidly expanding its nuclear capabilities and number of deployed warheads.
The ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas “has the potential to escalate into a wider Middle Eastern conflict that could pose unpredictable threats, regionally and globally,” while Iran continues to seek its own nukes, the Bulletin said. North Korea also continues to rattle its nuclear saber by building warheads and launching ballistic missiles.
