Doomsday Clock Warns Of 'Unprecedented Danger' Posed By Ukraine Conflict - BAS President

Muhammad Irfan Published January 24, 2023 | 09:55 PM

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS) has updated its Doomsday Clock to the most dire state ever, largely due to the "unprecedented danger" posed by the increased risk of escalation between Russia and the collective West in the Ukraine conflict to use nuclear weapons, BAS President and CEO Rachel Bronson said on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th January, 2023) The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS) has updated its Doomsday Clock to the most dire state ever, largely due to the "unprecedented danger" posed by the increased risk of escalation between Russia and the collective West in the Ukraine conflict to use nuclear weapons, BAS President and CEO Rachel Bronson said on Tuesday.

"We are living in a time of unprecedented danger and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality: 90 seconds to midnight is the closest the clock has ever been set to midnight and it's a decision our experts do not take lightly," Bronson said in a press release. "The US government, its NATO allies and Ukraine have a multitude of channels for dialogue; we urge leaders to explore all of them to their fullest ability to turn back the clock."

The new Doomsday Clock time was also influenced by threats from climate change, disinformation and disruptive technology, and "the breakdown of global norms and institutions needed to mitigate risks associated with advancing technologies and biological threats such as COVID-19," the release said.

The time is set by the BAS's Science and Security board and had previously been set in 2020 at 100 seconds to midnight.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Eugene Rabinowitch and other University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapon in the Manhattan Project. The scientists wanted to inform the public and policymakers about man-made threats to human existence. The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 to convey how close humanity may be to destroying itself.