Nuclear scientists have moved their "Doomsday Clock" closer than ever to midnight, Reuters reports. The reason for this is Russian nuclear threats amid the invasion of Ukraine, tensions in other flashpoints around the world, military applications of artificial intelligence and climate change as factors underlying the risks of global catastrophe.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has set the "Doomsday Clock" just 89 seconds before midnight - the theoretical point of destruction. That's one second closer than last year. The Chicago-based nonprofit created the clock in 1947 during the Cold War tensions that followed World War II to warn the public how close humanity is to the destruction of the world.
The setting of the Doomsday Clock to 89 seconds to midnight is a warning to all world leaders, he stressed. The war in Ukraine continues to emerge as a major source of nuclear risk. This conflict could escalate to include nuclear weapons at any time due to a rash decision or an accident and miscalculation, Holz believes.
In November 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks, a move the Kremlin described as a signal to the West amid a war in which Ukraine has received weapons supplied by the United States and its allies. Russia’s updated doctrine set a framework for the conditions under which Putin could order a strike from the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. Putin stressed that he would not discuss signing a new treaty with the United States to replace the New START Treaty, which limits each country’s strategic nuclear weapons, which expires in 2026, as Moscow believes it should be expanded and expanded to include other countries.
The Middle East is another source of instability, with the Israel-Gaza war and wider regional feuds involving countries including Iran. Nuclear-armed China has stepped up military pressure near Taiwan, sending warships and aircraft into the waters and airspace around the island, which Beijing claims as its territory. Nuclear-armed North Korea continues to test various ballistic missiles. We are watching closely and hope that the Gaza truce will hold. Tensions in the Middle East remain dangerously volatile. There are other potential hot spots around the world, including Taiwan and North Korea, Holtz noted.
Artificial intelligence is gaining popularity rapidly in 2024, prompting growing concern among some experts about its military applications and risks to global security. According to Holtz, the development of artificial intelligence is beginning to manifest itself on the battlefield in tentative but worrying ways, and of particular concern is the future possibility of its application to nuclear weapons.
Last year was the hottest on record, according to scientists at the United Nations World Meteorological Organization. The past 10 years have been the 10 hottest on record. Despite impressive growth in wind and solar energy, the world is still not doing enough to prevent the worst aspects of climate change, Daniel Holtz explained.