Like never before/ Atomic scientists set hands of 'Doomsday Clock' close to midnight

2024-01-23 21:00:00, Kuriozitete CNA

Like never before/ Atomic scientists set hands of 'Doomsday Clock'

Illustrative photo

Nuclear scientists on Tuesday kept the "Doomsday Clock" set as close to midnight as ever, citing Russia's actions over the invasion of Ukraine, Israel's war in Gaza and worsening climate change as factors driving the risk of globalist catastrophe.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as they did last year, set the clock at 90 seconds to midnight, the theoretical point of annihilation. Scientists set the clock based on "existing" dangers to Earth and its people: the nuclear threat, climate change, and disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence and new biotechnology.

"Hotspots of conflict around the world carry the threat of nuclear escalation, climate change is already causing death and destruction, and disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and biological research are advancing faster than their safeguards," Rachel Bronson, president and CEO, told Reuters. CEO of the bulletin, adding that keeping it unchanged from last year "is not an indication that the world is stable." The Chicago-based nonprofit created the clock in 1947 to warn the public of how close humanity is to the destruction of the world. .

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which will reach its second anniversary next month, has escalated tensions with the West to their most dangerous levels since the Cold War.

"A lasting end to Russia's war in Ukraine appears remote, and Russia's use of nuclear weapons in that conflict remains a serious possibility. "In the past year, Russia has sent numerous disturbing signals about nuclear weapons," said Bronson.

Bronson cited Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision in February 2023 to suspend Russian participation in the New START treaty with the United States that limited both countries' strategic nuclear arsenals. The United States and Russia between them hold nearly 90% of the world's nuclear weapons, enough to destroy the planet.

Bronson also cited Putin's March 2023 announcement of Russia's deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus and the passage of a law by the Russian parliament in October 2023 withdrawing ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests.

Israel has been at war with Hamas since the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamist group launched attacks in southern Israel in October 2023 that, according to Israeli data, killed around 1,200 people. Israeli military strikes have killed more than 25,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.

"As a nuclear state, Israel's actions are clearly relevant to the Doomsday discussion. A particular concern is that the conflict could escalate more broadly in the region, creating a larger conventional war and attracting more nuclear or near-nuclear powers," Bronson said.

When the clock was first created, the greatest danger arose from nuclear weapons. Climate change was weighed as a factor for the first time in 2007.

"The world in 2023 entered uncharted territory as it experienced its hottest year on record and global greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise," said Bronson. "Global and North Atlantic sea surface temperatures break records, and Antarctic sea ice reaches its lowest daily extent since satellite data."

Bronson said 2023 was also a record year for clean energy, with $1.7 trillion in new investments. However, this offset fossil fuel investments of nearly $1 trillion, Bronson added.

"This illustrates that while promising, current efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are woefully inadequate to avert the dangerous human and economic impacts of climate change, which disproportionately affect the world's poorest people," Bronson said. / CNA