Doomsday Clock Closer To Midnight Than Ever Before, Armageddon Inevitable?
The Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved the hands of the infamous Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds to midnight.
On today’s edition of “what’s going to wipe out the planet?” we’re not presenting you with killer seals or conscious robots, no, that would be far too easy. Instead today, we bring you a fresh update from the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the group responsible for moving the hands on the ever-terrifying Doomsday Clock. According to the report, those in charge of predicting the catastrophic end of the world have inched the arms of the clock forward, to 90 seconds to midnight, and are saying that the decision to do so was mainly done because of the war in Ukraine.
This is the closest the Doomsday Clock has ever been to “midnight,” which represents the end of days. So, if you’re having a rough week at work, the world is probably going to end soon anyway. As we move towards the beginning of the second year of the war in Ukraine, scientists believe that there’s no way that the countries will come to a truce and that Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine has made many world leaders anxious and uncertain about what could happen next.
It’s been almost 30 years since Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom held a meeting in Budapest, Hungary, and agreed that they would hold fast to the “independence and sovereignty” of Ukraine as well as its borders. They also committed to not using violence or force toward the “political independence” of the country. These oaths were taken under a deal that would see Ukraine ridding themselves of nuclear weapons and signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – but now, due to the country’s invasion by Russia, the Doomsday Clock has moved forward.
Ukraine upheld their side of the deal with Russia now taking over the Chornobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor plants, another dangerous and risky move that has pushed the Doomsday Clock forward. Although the Atomic Energy Agency has tried to reclaim these world-ending sites, they’ve so far been stopped by Russia. With Russia on the defense, the clock ticks even closer to midnight as the country has made it clear that the possibility of them dragging us all into a nuclear war is very much in the cards.
Along with the ongoing threat of the world teetering off the edge into nuclear oblivion, the Doomsday Clock has also been skipped ahead due to the negative effects on the climate that have spawned from the war in Ukraine. Many countries get their oil from Russia and, with the invading country holding all the power, some are being forced to look into other methods to secure their fossil fuels. And then, of course, there’s the ongoing spread of misinformation carried out by Russia and its supporters, meant to make Ukraine and the countries backing it appear as the aggressors.
While it seems the world has banded together to help those in Ukraine fight the battle against Russia, no amount of celebrity backing can help us from the Doomsday Clock striking midnight. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance and no peace in sight, we can only expect the clock to continue to tick. Have a great Wednesday!
